Dossier
Waste heat
Coverage of Waste heat in the Nexus archive.
- Katie McGinty: The energy economy’s biggest waste problem is already inside the system
The article highlights the energy economy's significant waste problem, noting that up to half of all energy is lost as heat globally. It emphasizes the potential of untapped waste heat, equivalent to three-quarters of U.S. annual electricity consumption, and discusses how AI-driven data centers are increasing energy demand while legacy systems waste energy on non-compute tasks.
- AI speeds up design of devices that turn waste heat into electricity
An AI system accelerates the design of thermoelectric generators that convert waste heat into electricity. The breakthrough, published in Nature, uses machine learning to bypass complex equations, enabling faster and more efficient device development.