(as a non-expert, circa early 2021)
See also my notes from 2018 on climate:
https://johncarlosbaez.wordpress.com/2019/10/05/climate-technology-primer-part-1/
https://johncarlosbaez.wordpress.com/2019/10/13/climate-technology-primer-part-2/
https://longitudinal.blog/co2-series-part-3-other-interventions/
Cement/concrete —
https://www.engine.xyz/founders/sublime-systems/
https://www.solidiatech.com/
Batteries —
http://www.a123systems.com/
https://ionicmaterials.com/
https://formenergy.com/technology/battery-technology/
Cheap green hydrogen production by electrolysis, useful for grid scale storage —
https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/origen-hydrogen
https://hydroxholdings.co.za/technology/
Thermal energy storage, for grid-scale storage —
https://www.antoraenergy.com/technology
See also:
https://escholarship.org/content/qt2vz9b61f/qt2vz9b61f.pdf
https://arxiv.org/abs/2106.07624
https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1218761
Food with less animals and ultimately less agriculture overall —
https://impossiblefoods.com
https://www.calysta.com/ (animal feed from methane)
https://www.activate.org/circe-bioscience (food from water and CO2)
See: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41587-020-0485-4
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/food/1984/05/27/can-food-be-made-from-coal/d80567ac-c656-4e0b-9f54-d505bd6d261a/
https://www.pnas.org/content/117/32/19131
Fusion —
Z-pinch and other magneto-inertial methods
https://www.zapenergyinc.com/
https://www.helionenergy.com/
Commonwealth Fusion and Tokamak Energy also
Compact and safer nuclear fission —
https://oklo.com/ (minimalist approach) https://twitter.com/oklo?lang=en
https://www.nuscalepower.com/
https://www.terrapower.com/
https://thorconpower.com/
Geothermal anywhere drilling —
https://www.engine.xyz/founders/quaise/
https://www.texasgeo.org/
https://pangea.stanford.edu/ERE/db/GeoConf/papers/SGW/2021/Malek.pdf (analysis of closed loop)
Solid state heat to electricity conversion —
https://modernelectron.com/
Electrofuels —
https://infiniumco.com/
https://carbonengineering.com/
Other carbon utilization —
https://www.twelve.co/
https://www.lanzatech.com/
Improved air conditioning and refrigeration with low global-warming potential —
https://www.gradientcomfort.com/
https://www.rebound-tech.com/
Substituting for nitrogen fertilizers —
https://www.pivotbio.com/
Marine cloud brightening —
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02290-3 (Australia)
https://www.silverlining.ngo/research-efforts (analysis)
Soil carbon measurement —
https://arpa-e.energy.gov/technologies/programs/roots
Electro-swing direct air capture —
https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/verdox
Far out ideas to locally divert hurricanes —
https://viento.ai/
Philanthropic/patient capital for climate ventures with PRIs —
https://primecoalition.org/what-is-prime/
Novel approaches to enhance natural ocean carbon drawdown —
https://faculty-directory.dartmouth.edu/mukul-sharma (clay minerals)
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2019.00022/full
Advance market commitments for negative emissions and other problems —
https://stripe.com/sessions/2021/building-carbon-removal
https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/what-advance-market-commitment-and-how-could-it-help-beat-covid-19
https://www.nuclearinnovationalliance.org/search-spacex-nuclear-energy
Kelp farming, ocean utilization, biochar and other multidisciplinary problems —
https://www.climatefoundation.org/
Managing wildfires —
https://nintil.com/managing-wildfires
Crops —
https://x.company/projects/mineral/
Desalination —
https://www.tridentdesal.com/
https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/american-made-challenges-solar-desalination-prize
Getting more science-based companies to happen in this space —
https://www.activate.org/mission
Enhanced weathering for negative emissions —
https://www.projectvesta.org/
AI and data —
https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-nucl-101918-023708
https://www.climatechange.ai/
Venture portfolios —
https://www.breakthroughenergy.org/
https://lowercarboncapital.com/
https://www.engine.xyz/
ARPA-E