Austin Vernon

How Ukraine Built a War Fighting State

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The engine is revving after years of war. ...

Solving the Strait of Hormuz Blockage

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Markets ensure the disruption can't last more than 1-2 years. ...

2026 Geothermal Update

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Progress grinds forward as the great filter looms. ...

Speed Can Reindustrialize America

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Reviving manufacturing doesn't require a planned economy, just a better business model. ...

A Nuclear Fission Regulatory Blank Slate

Sun, 26 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

What if nuclear regulations were reset? ...

How Rockefeller and His Partners Built Standard Oil

Sun, 05 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Many tech industry followers will recognize the playbook. ...

Building Ultra Cheap Energy Storage for Solar PV

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Solar still needs storage cheap enough to move energy between seasons. I have been working on a startup to do this for the last two years. ...

Expanding the Universal Marginal Energy Source

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Solar PV is poised to change the global energy landscape. ...

Are Volcanoes a Risk to Solar Dominated Grids?

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

It seems grids will fare fine because of non linear affects. ...

The Outsize Impact of AI Logistics

Sat, 05 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Automated logistics will heavy impact one third of GDP. ...

A Review of Massively Scalable Enhanced Rock Weathering

Wed, 23 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

How cheap can it pull CO2 from the air? ...

Startup Strategy for Commodity Products

Thu, 06 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Making ultra cheap products requires different rules and strategy. ...

Imagining the Drone Air Force

Mon, 20 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Can cheap, expendable drones complete every mission? ...

Integrating AI Agents into Companies

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

AI needs a different environment than humans to take advantage of its speed. ...

Human Driving Increases Transportation Cost 10x

Mon, 14 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Why ground transportation still has a lot of legs. ...

2024 Geothermal Update

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Drilling and completions technology progresses, but is it enough? ...

How to Make Off Grid Data Centers Affordable

Thu, 18 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Powering data centers with solar and batteries can be compelling with optimized designs. ...

Revitalizing US Navy Shipbuilding

Wed, 03 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The US Navy's ship program is sick, but the fixes aren't rocket science. ...

Making Hydrogen Affordable

Thu, 14 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Green hydrogen could be critical for chemical production, but making it cost effective is a tall task. ...

Evaluating Geothermal Learning Curves

Thu, 26 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

A look at how geothermal might improve like wind and solar. ...

In Defense of Electricity Markets

Wed, 11 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Electricity markets are often maligned but they are the best option for handling changing electricity generating technology. ...

The Case for Brick Thermal Storage

Fri, 08 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Thermal storage could solve many difficult areas of decarbonization. ...

2023 Geothermal Update

Fri, 30 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Drilling technology progresses, but is it enough? ...

The Future of Carbon Dioxide Direct Air Capture

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

How do we scale to gigatons? ...

The Minimum Viable Navy

Mon, 22 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

What is the absolute minimum performance we need to counter China? ...

Why Battery Powered Cargo Ships are Compelling

Tue, 09 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Ships need cheap batteries instead of high performance ones. ...

How to Build a House in One Day

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Humanoid robots powered by artificial intelligence could build regular houses in one day using traditional construction techniques. ...

The Case for Separating Fission from Electricity Production

Thu, 06 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Nuclear power could level up by producing high value products. ...

Nuclear Power's Challenges in less than 1000 Words

Fri, 24 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

There are fundamental reasons nuclear power struggles with cost. ...

AI Tutors and Education Reform

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

AI can revolutionize K-12, but how many actually want it? ...

Fuel Logistics for a Pacific War

Wed, 01 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

How hard is it to fuel a war across a vast ocean? ...

Are Aircraft Carriers Obsolete?

Fri, 24 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

One poorly designed class of ships does not obsolete aircraft carriers. ...

The Weapons That Win World Wars

Wed, 22 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Asymmetric advantages disappear when the gloves come off. ...

The Future of Industrial Process Heat

Thu, 05 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

New competitors hope to challenge fossil fuel's dominance. ...

How the US Military is Responding to China

Wed, 07 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The US is rapidly compensating for the short range of its fighter aircraft. ...

The Decentralization of Atoms is Underrated

Mon, 21 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Stephen Malina and I co-wrote this post to praise flexible and distributed technologies. ...

Electric Trucks are Ready for the Road

Mon, 19 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

New designs that can utilize cheaper battery chemistries will alleviate scaling problems. ...

Can Nuclear Power Manage Another Comeback?

Wed, 07 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Nuclear power survived a dark period in the 1980s by increasing output from existing power plants, can it build on that success to grow again? ...

How to Reduce the Impact of Fossil Fuels on Electricity Prices

Tue, 23 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

An explanation of a Matt Ygelesias tweet. ...

The Nuts and Bolts of Siting and Building Power Lines

Sun, 21 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Politics and physics add many constraints. ...

Geothermal's Path to Relevance: Better Heat Transfer and Heat Engines

Wed, 27 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

What technology does geothermal need to be competitive? ...

Is the Smart Grid All Hot Air?

Wed, 06 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The benefits of different smart grid technologies vary widely. ...

The Realities of 21st Century Defense Contracting

Wed, 01 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Atoms are more important than bits when killing people. ...

Simple Solutions Power Solar's Advance

Tue, 19 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The solar supply chain is pushing complexity to giant factories. ...

SpaceX's Starship: America's Secret Weapon

Wed, 06 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Declining launch costs enable new classes of weapons. ...

The Electric Car's Shrinking Role in Reducing Oil Demand

Mon, 21 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Trucks, vans, and other high mileage vehicles promise to impact oil demand more than EVs. ...

Russia's Apparent Shortage of Smart Bombs Caused a Cascade of Failures

Sun, 06 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Precision Guided Munitions drive modern war and somehow Russia forgot to build enough. ...

Ending Russia's Hydrocarbon Windfall

Wed, 02 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

What is the correct goal and what can be done quickly? ...

Natural Gas is a Fuel of the Future

Wed, 23 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Inertia and new technology make it hard and undesirable to root out. ...

Why is the Nuclear Power Industry Stagnant?

Mon, 10 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Technical and economic barriers prevent nuclear from growing. ...

The Future of E-Bikes

Tue, 09 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

E-Bike technology is amazing. How will it improve, and how will we use it? ...

The Three Horseman of Grid Stability

Fri, 05 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Grid operators must balance the grid at the millisecond level, the daily level, and during peak events. ...

Geothermal's Path to Relevance: Cheap Drilling

Sun, 24 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

What technology does geothermal need to be competitive? ...

Energy Prices are Naturally Turbulent

Tue, 19 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Volatility flows up from our energy technologies. ...

Arcane Regulations Slow America's Energy Shift

Mon, 04 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Solar and wind are cheap, but hard to permit. ...

What it Takes to Beat the Market

Tue, 14 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Alpha isn't what you think. ...

Electrify Everything is Slow

Tue, 07 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The electrify everything push is unimaginative central planning. ...

America's Aerospace Industry is Regenerating

Tue, 31 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A new breed of companies emulates aerospace's golden age. ...

Rural America is Gearing Up For a Generation of Change

Wed, 25 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Crop price deflation will no longer rule. ...

Air Travel Doesn't Have to be Terrible

Thu, 19 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The technology exists to save us, if we let it. ...

Why Doesn't Software Show Up in Productivity?

Tue, 10 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Software is actually a management technology. ...

Tunnels are our Transportation Future

Mon, 02 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Tunnels are getting cheap and that makes a big difference. ...

Solar PV's Path to Dominance

Thu, 22 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Solar's dominance is not assured, but the path is clear. ...

Estimate Solar + Storage Market Share

Thu, 22 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A Python script that parses data and calculates solar + storage economics. ...

Is Geothermal Really Going to be a Thing?

Mon, 05 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Why geothermal isn't ubiquitous and how it might get that way. ...

How to Build a Giant Carmaker

Wed, 30 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

America finally owns Deming, and a manufacturing renaissance may follow ...

So, You Want to Build a House More Efficiently

Fri, 25 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Raise your ambitions, and dumb it down. ...

One Way to Value a Cryptocurrency

Wed, 23 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

A conservative method using traditional macroeconomic thinking. ...

Understanding Public-Key Cryptography

Tue, 15 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Learn how to read the Bitcoin Whitepaper without googling every other word. Pt. 2 ...

Public-Key Cryptography Math and Code Tutorial

Tue, 15 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Encrypt messages, decrypt messages, and sign messages. ...

Understanding Hash Functions

Thu, 10 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Learn how to read the Bitcoin Whitepaper without googling every other word. Pt. 1 ...

Hash Functions Code Tutorial

Thu, 10 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Learn how to use hash functions with Python. ...

IPFS Blog Code Tutorial

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Learn how to publish on the uncensorable web. ...

On the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS)

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

I host this blog on IPFS, this is what I learned about the censorship-proof protocol. ...

FAQ

Sat, 29 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000

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