MIT Technology Review names Envision, Fervo and Form Energy among 2026 climate tech companies to watch
MIT Technology Review released its 2026 Climate Tech Companies to Watch list this week, an annual project of its team meant to highlight promising advances and firms in climate and energy technology. This article, from The Spark, the magazine's weekly climate newsletter, explains the themes behind the picks and singles out example companies. The author calls the list a little ray of hope.
The first theme is China. The author argues that China's dominance in energy technology is a global trend worth repeating, and notes that China is home to the world's largest grid. Envision Energy, a renewables giant on the list for the second time, has installed over 100 gigawatts of wind power worldwide and over 50 gigawatt-hours of battery storage. It is now looking beyond the crowded Chinese market, with projects in Germany, Brazil and Australia and upcoming work in Vietnam. On batteries, the author says all the big Chinese makers, along with a host of smaller ones, are racing to develop solid-state batteries, which could be both safer than existing EV batteries and longer in range. WeLion New Energy announced a lab result last year of 824 watt-hours per kilogram, more than three times the energy density of a standard lithium-ion battery today. Lab results are notoriously difficult to scale, but WeLion is also working to deploy semi-solid-state batteries, which could come to fruition faster than purely solid-state cells while still improving on lithium-ion performance.
The second theme is data centers. Only three US companies made the list, and two of them have received a major boost from Big Tech as companies look to power data centers; the third, Brimstone, is leaning into critical minerals. Fervo Energy uses horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to make next-generation geothermal power practical in more places. It went public in May, raising $2.2 billion in its IPO, and plans to have a gigawatt's worth of plants operational by the end of 2030. X-energy is building helium-cooled small modular nuclear reactors and is working on a 320-megawatt cluster with Amazon in Richland, Washington. The author is also interested in industrial use: a deal with Dow could see the reactors deployed at one of Dow's chemical plants in the early 2030s.
The third theme is grid storage. The author says the energy storage market has surpassed even their expectations over the four years since the newsletter started, and that solar and wind need storage to meet more of the grid's demand. Form Energy, on the list for a third time, makes iron-air batteries that could enable cheaper long-duration storage. Its 30 gigawatt-hour project will help power a Google data center, is expected online in phases between 2028 and 2031, and could be the world's largest battery project by capacity by then. Energy Dome stores energy in compressed carbon dioxide, a technology the author says is already cheaper than lithium-ion batteries for longer durations, think 10 hours or more. It now plans over 30 gigawatt-hours of plants worldwide, including one with Google in Ireland slated for 2028. Moment Energy is working to use the million EV batteries expected to reach end of life by 2030, and runs a facility in Vancouver, British Columbia, that repurposes used batteries for backup power. The author closes by saying this year has not been all sunshine and rainbows for climate tech, but hopes these companies will keep nudging things in the right direction.
Key facts
- MIT Technology Review's annual 2026 Climate Tech Companies to Watch list was released this week; the article groups picks into China, data-center power and grid storage.
- Envision Energy (second appearance) has installed over 100 gigawatts of wind and over 50 gigawatt-hours of battery storage; WeLion New Energy reported a lab result of 824 Wh/kg, more than three times a standard lithium-ion battery.
- Only three US companies are on the list: Fervo Energy (geothermal, $2.2 billion IPO in May), X-energy (small modular reactors, 320-megawatt cluster with Amazon) and Brimstone (critical minerals).
- Form Energy's 30 gigawatt-hour iron-air project for a Google data center is expected online in phases between 2028 and 2031.
- Energy Dome plans over 30 gigawatt-hours of compressed-CO2 storage plants, including one with Google in Ireland slated for 2028.
Why it matters
The list is a snapshot of where an influential tech publication sees climate and energy technology heading. Its three themes are a useful map: Chinese firms moving from a crowded home market to projects abroad, US power technologies pulled forward by data-center demand, and storage as the piece the grid needs as solar and wind come online. The author notes that technologies able to provide consistent power are in high demand, and that two of the three US picks have received a major boost from Big Tech.
Who it affects
Readers tracking energy and climate technology get a shortlist of names and the reasoning behind it. The examples touch battery makers and EV supply chains (WeLion, Moment Energy), power developers and data-center operators looking for steady supply (Fervo, X-energy, Form Energy, Energy Dome), and industrial users such as Dow, which has a deal that could see X-energy reactors at one of its chemical plants in the early 2030s. Amazon and Google appear as partners in several projects.
How to use it
Treat it as a reading guide rather than a product to adopt. The article sorts the field into three themes and gives each company a one-line reason for inclusion, so it works as a starting point for deeper reading on solid-state and semi-solid-state batteries, next-generation geothermal, small modular reactors and long-duration storage. The article covers only some of the companies on the list, so the rest are not covered here.
How solid is it
This is an editorial newsletter piece from The Spark, MIT Technology Review's weekly climate newsletter, and the views are the author's own. The article does not name its author and quotes no one. The company figures are stated in the text without sources: Envision's installed totals are cumulative, WeLion's number is a lab result from last year, and several project dates and sizes are plans. The Fervo IPO figure of $2.2 billion is the only funding detail given for any company.
Risks and caveats
Many of the headline numbers are plans or possibilities, not delivered results. Fervo plans a gigawatt by the end of 2030; Form Energy's project could be the world's largest battery by capacity; the Dow deployment is one that could happen in the early 2030s. The author says lab results in battery research are notoriously difficult to scale, and no timescale is given for commercial solid-state or semi-solid-state batteries. The list is also a curated selection, with only three US companies, and the author acknowledges the year has not been all sunshine and rainbows for climate tech.
“Lab results in battery research are notoriously difficult to scale, but WeLion is also working to deploy semi-solid-state batteries, which could come to fruition faster than purely solid-state cells while still improving on lithium-ion's performance.”
— The Spark, MIT Technology Review's weekly climate newsletter