Tech Breakthrough Makes Solar Power Really Hot – with the Help of Bill Gates

A Bill Gates-backed startup is working towards a future where clean energy produces more clean energy, and has achieved a major solar leap towards that goal – with the help of artificial intelligence.

Clean energy company Heliogen has successfully concentrated solar energy at record temperatures above 1,832F – significantly higher than the 1,049F of the best solar concentrator systems – on the first day of its plant operation through a form of artificial intelligence that allows for a whole new level of accuracy.

This feat of “breakthrough” heat levels makes it possible to replace fossil fuels to generate power for producing cement, steel, and other industrial tasks. If the technology can cut any bit of the 20% of emissions caused by industrial processes, it would make a significantly reduce the impacts of global warming. The company’s ultimate goal is to reach temperatures of 2,732F, making it hot enough to create hydrogen and synthetic gas – and thus having a cycle of clean energy producing clean energy.