I caught the Golden Globes final weekend, and the Grammys and Oscars aren’t far off. However the very best awards, in my humble opinion, are the ten Breakthrough Applied sciences, MIT Know-how Evaluation’s checklist of the tech that’s altering our world. 

This yr’s checklist dropped on Monday, and I’m delighted to share that not one, not two, however three local weather tech objects are featured. So for the publication this week, let’s check out a number of of those award-winning applied sciences it is advisable to learn about. (And to honor awards season, I’ll even be assigning them to bonus—and fully unofficial—classes.)

Tremendous-efficient photo voltaic cells

Winner: Greatest Supporting Actor

Photo voltaic panels are among the many most vital, and maybe probably the most recognizable, instruments to handle local weather change. However one next-generation photo voltaic expertise may assist solar energy get much more environment friendly, and cheaper: perovskite tandem photo voltaic cells. 

Most photo voltaic cells use silicon to absorb daylight and rework it into electrical energy. However different supplies can do that job too, together with perovskites, a category of crystalline supplies. And since perovskites and silicon soak up totally different wavelengths of sunshine, the 2 supplies will be stacked like a sandwich to make one super-efficient cell. 

Due to their excellent assist for conventional silicon photo voltaic supplies, super-efficient perovskite tandem cells are my winner for this yr’s Greatest Supporting Actor award. 

There are undoubtedly boundaries to commercializing this expertise: perovskites are difficult to fabricate and have traditionally degraded shortly exterior within the components. However some firms say they’re nearer than ever to utilizing the supplies to remodel business photo voltaic. Learn extra concerning the expertise right here. 

Enhanced geothermal programs

Winner: Greatest New Artist