MIT Technology Review has released its 2026 Climate Tech Companies to Watch list, an annual project highlighting promising firms in climate and energy technology. The selections reflect several themes shaping the current moment, starting with China's dominance in the sector.
China is home to the world's largest grid, and renewables are coming online rapidly. Envision Energy, appearing on the list for the second time, has installed over 100 gigawatts of wind power worldwide and more than 50 gigawatt-hours of battery storage. The company is expanding into projects in Germany, Brazil, Australia and Vietnam. Chinese firms are also leading in solid-state batteries, which could be safer and offer greater range than current EV batteries. We Lion New Energy announced a lab result of 824 watt-hours per kilogram, more than three times the energy density of a standard lithium-ion battery, and is working to deploy semi-solid-state cells sooner.
Only three US companies made the list, and two have received a major boost from Big Tech as firms seek power for data centers. Fervo Energy is bringing next-generation geothermal power to the grid using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. The company went public in May, raising $2.2 billion, and plans to have a gigawatt of plants operational by the end of 2030. X-energy is building helium-cooled small modular nuclear reactors, including a 320-megawatt cluster with Amazon in Richland, Washington, and a deal with Dow that could bring the technology to a chemical plant in the early 2030s.
Energy storage is becoming a key piece of the grid as solar and wind expand. Form Energy, on the list for a third time, is developing iron-air batteries for cheaper long-duration storage. Its 30 gigawatt-hour project, which will help power a Google data center, could become the world's largest battery project by capacity when it comes online in phases between 2028 and 2030.
Source: MIT Technology Review · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing