Why we’re watching these climate tech companies
Form Energy contracted a 30 gigawatt-hours iron-air battery project to supply a Google data center, targeting phased commissioning between 2028 and 2031.
By Dillip Chowdary • Oct 10, 2026 • Source: MIT Technology Review
MIT Technology Review published its 2026 Climate Tech Companies to Watch list, highlighting key advances and growing firms across grid infrastructure, nuclear energy, geothermal power, and energy storage. The annual collection emphasizes global market trends, including China's expanding role in clean energy technology, alongside rapid deployments driven by data center power requirements. According to MIT Technology Review's report, key innovators are scaling hardware deployments to bridge the gap between intermittent renewable power and continuous electrical demand.
This breakdown covers the selected companies, operational statistics, technological milestones, and planned utility deployments. It is designed for engineers, energy market analysts, and infrastructure builders tracking commercial scale-up across next-generation grid storage, nuclear clusters, and battery chemistries.
What We’re watching these climate tech companies shipped
The selected companies represent commercial milestones across generation, long-duration storage, and battery chemistries. Chinese manufacturer Envision Energy expanded its global footprint, having installed over 100 gigawatts of wind power capacity worldwide alongside 50 gigawatt-hours of battery storage installations. Battery firm WeLion New Energy logged a laboratory milestone of 824 watt-hours per kilogram energy density, achieving over three times the energy density of current standard lithium-ion cells while developing semi-solid-state variants for commercial deployment.
In the generation sector, Fervo Energy completed a public listing in May, raising $2.2 billion in its IPO to support horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing operations for geothermal power. X-energy initiated development on a 320-megawatt cluster of helium-cooled small modular nuclear reactors in Richland, Washington, in collaboration with Amazon, while establishing a commercial agreement with Dow for deployment at a chemical facility in the early 2030s.
What changed for builders in We’re watching these climate tech companies
Infrastructure developers gained access to expanding storage capacities and alternative medium-to-long duration energy storage architectures optimized for data centers and grid backup. Form Energy contracted a 30 gigawatt-hours iron-air battery project to supply a Google data center, targeting phased commissioning between 2028 and 2031. Energy Dome advanced compressed carbon dioxide storage systems that achieve lower unit costs than lithium-ion batteries for duration windows of 10 hours or longer, securing project pipelines exceeding 30 gigawatt-hours globally, including a 2028 facility with Google in Ireland. Moment Energy established a processing facility in Vancouver, British Columbia, targeting recycled electric vehicle battery packs to deliver secondary backup power systems.
| Company | Technology / Focus | Key Performance / Capacity Metric | Commercial Timeline / Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Envision Energy | Wind & Grid Storage | 100 GW wind / 50 GWh storage | Global expansion (DE, BR, AU, VN) |
| WeLion New Energy | Solid-State Battery | 824 Wh/kg energy density | Scaling semi-solid-state cells |
| Fervo Energy | Geothermal Power | 1 GW operational goal | Raised $2.2B IPO in May; target 2030 |
| X-energy | Small Modular Reactor | 320 MW reactor cluster | Richland, WA site; Dow deal early 2030s |
| Form Energy | Iron-Air Battery | 30 GWh capacity | Phased rollout 2028–2031 with Google |
| Energy Dome | Compressed CO2 Storage | 30+ GWh planned global storage | Ireland plant live 2028 with Google |
| Moment Energy | Battery Repurposing | EV second-life backup power | Active facility in Vancouver, BC |
How to install or upgrade We’re watching these climate tech companies
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Integrating new clean technology platforms relies on established software toolchains for modeling and operational tracking. Energy system engineers and project builders can update CLI tooling, set environment defaults, and launch targeted analysis modules using standard shell syntax.
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code/model fableclaude --model fableexport ANTHROPIC_MODEL=claude-fable-5-1Gotchas and compatibility in We’re watching these climate tech companies
Translating high-density laboratory achievements into high-yield manufacturing remains a core technical hurdle for advanced energy storage. While WeLion recorded 824 watt-hours per kilogram in laboratory tests, scaling pure solid-state chemistry into commercial production faces manufacturing stability challenges, prompting the firm's parallel effort to deploy semi-solid-state cells.
Similarly, long-duration energy storage installations require extended construction timelines and phased integration. Form Energy's 30 gigawatt-hours project requires multi-year staging through 2031, while X-energy's industrial nuclear deployment with Dow extends into the early 2030s. Grid operators must align interconnect timelines with these multi-year deployment horizons.
What to watch after We’re watching these climate tech companies
Geothermal developer Fervo Energy aims to bring 1 gigawatt of geothermal power plants online by the end of 2030 using its specialized drilling techniques. Meanwhile, Envision Energy is expanding its project pipeline outside China into international markets across Germany, Brazil, Australia, and Vietnam.
Recycling operations will also adjust to influx volumes as an estimated one million electric vehicle batteries reach their end-of-life stage by 2030. Operators like Moment Energy will scale second-life facilities to convert spent EV packs into stationary grid storage.
Developer Action Items
- ☐ Map where Google / Amazon / Windows sits in your stack (SDK, API key, billing, data-processing addendum).
- ☐ Hold the $2.2 billion figure to the primary report; do not brief a number that is not on the record.
- ☐ Hold non-urgent migrations until the integration or use-of-proceeds roadmap is public — day-one coverage is not a ship signal.
- ☐ If you are mid-contract or mid-POC, ask the vendor what changes for existing customers this quarter.
- ☐ Write the single decision this forces: stay, dual-source, or exit.
We’re watching these climate tech companies FAQ
What energy density did WeLion New Energy achieve in the lab?
WeLion recorded a lab result of 824 watt-hours per kilogram, which is more than three times the energy density of a standard lithium-ion battery.
How much capital did Fervo Energy raise during its public offering?
Fervo Energy went public in May and raised $2.2 billion in its initial public offering to scale its geothermal power capacity.
What is the capacity of Form Energy's battery project with Google?
Form Energy is building a 30 gigawatt-hour iron-air battery system to power a Google data center, scheduled to come online in phases between 2028 and 2031.
Where is X-energy deploying its small modular nuclear reactors?
X-energy is developing a 320-megawatt reactor cluster in collaboration with Amazon in Richland, Washington, alongside a planned deployment at a Dow chemical plant in the early 2030s.
Sources
Author
Dillip Chowdary
Writes Tech Bytes coverage of AI, engineering, and the tools that actually ship. Editor of Tech Pulse Daily.
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