Meet the innovators under 35 shaping climate tech

遇见 35 位重塑气候技术的青年创新者

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Each year, the editorial team at MIT Technology Review puts together a list of 35 innovators under 35—a group of researchers, inventors, and other young minds worth following. The team worked on the newest edition of the list for months, and the final slate includes nine individuals from all over the world in the climate and energy category. Each one has a fascinating story and is tackling an important challenge. I think it’s worth zooming out and considering the energy and climate awardees as a group. Taken together, these innovators and their work can tell us something about where climate tech is at this moment—and where it’s heading.

执行摘要 每年，《麻省理工科技评论》的编辑团队都会评选出 35 位 35 岁以下的创新者——这是一群值得关注的研究人员、发明家和其他青年才俊。编辑团队为最新一期的榜单筹备了数月，最终入选者中，有九位来自全球各地，专注于气候与能源领域。他们每个人都有着引人入胜的故事，并正在攻克重要的挑战。我认为，将这些能源与气候领域的获奖者作为一个群体来审视是非常有意义的。综合来看，这些创新者及其工作能够揭示气候技术当下的发展现状，以及未来的前进方向。

AI is the dominant technology story, both for its potential and its challenges. We split the innovators into four main categories this year: biotech, climate and energy, computing and robotics, and AI. It probably won’t surprise you that AI features heavily in the work of many innovators in other categories. Climate innovator Jae-Won Chung, for example, built software to make AI more energy-efficient. By measuring the energy demands of open-source models, he hopes the industry can better understand and address the impact of AI. (If this work sounds familiar, it’s because we spoke with him last year for our investigation into AI’s energy demands.)

人工智能是目前最受关注的技术话题，既因其潜力，也因其带来的挑战。今年，我们将创新者分为四个主要类别：生物技术、气候与能源、计算与机器人，以及人工智能。你可能不会感到惊讶，人工智能在其他类别许多创新者的工作中也占据了重要地位。例如，气候创新者 Jae-Won Chung 开发了一款软件，旨在提高人工智能的能效。通过测量开源模型的能源需求，他希望业界能更好地理解并应对人工智能带来的影响。（如果这项工作听起来很熟悉，那是因为我们去年在调查人工智能能源需求时曾采访过他。）

But AI also has the potential to improve many areas of research. Jing Wei is using AI to track pollution more effectively, essentially using machine learning to fill in gaps in data from disparate sources like satellites and weather stations. Zhonghua Zheng developed AI climate models that work better for cities, a well-known blind spot for traditional models.

但人工智能同样有潜力改善许多研究领域。Jing Wei 正在利用人工智能更有效地追踪污染，本质上是利用机器学习来填补来自卫星和气象站等不同来源的数据空白。Zhonghua Zheng 开发了更适用于城市的人工智能气候模型，而城市正是传统模型中众所周知的盲点。

We need better ways to get the critical materials used to build new technologies. As we begin to rely on new technologies to power our world, we’ll see a major shift in the materials we need to build them. Lithium is a prime example: The metal underpins lithium-ion batteries, which are crucial not only for electric vehicles, but also for large-scale energy storage on the grid. We could face lithium shortages as soon as this decade, and the prospect of supply crunches applies to other critical minerals, too—copper is another one to watch closely.

我们需要更好的方法来获取构建新技术所需的关键材料。随着我们开始依赖新技术来驱动世界，我们将看到构建这些技术所需的材料发生重大转变。锂就是一个典型的例子：这种金属是锂离子电池的基础，而锂离子电池不仅对电动汽车至关重要，对电网的大规模储能也同样关键。我们最早可能在本十年内面临锂短缺，而供应紧缩的前景也适用于其他关键矿产——铜就是另一种需要密切关注的矿产。

Brine is currently the cheapest source of lithium, but the process to get the metal out can take months and harm the local environment. Mohammad Alkhadra is the cofounder and CEO of Lithios, a startup working to quickly and efficiently extract lithium from brines. Hardrock ore is the most common source of lithium, but it’s more expensive than brine. Benjamin Mowbray cofounded and serves as CTO for Rock Zero, which is working to extract lithium from hardrock ore.

卤水目前是成本最低的锂来源，但提取金属的过程可能需要数月时间，且会破坏当地环境。Mohammad Alkhadra 是初创公司 Lithios 的联合创始人兼首席执行官，该公司致力于从卤水中快速高效地提取锂。硬岩矿石是锂最常见的来源，但其成本高于卤水。Benjamin Mowbray 是 Rock Zero 的联合创始人兼首席技术官，该公司正致力于从硬岩矿石中提取锂。

Addressing climate change will require overhauling all corners of our society, sometimes in surprising ways. To reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions we will obviously need to rethink major sectors, like the electrical grid and transportation, to move away from fossil fuels. But outside these primary sources of climate pollution are seemingly infinite, less obvious problems to figure out, too. Heavy industry, including steel production, is a major one, making up about 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Laureen Meroueh is making cleaner, cheaper steel using a new kind of furnace that simplifies the chemical process required to produce the metal.

应对气候变化需要对我们社会的各个角落进行彻底改革，有时方式令人意想不到。为了实现温室气体净零排放，我们显然需要重新思考电力和交通等主要行业，以摆脱对化石燃料的依赖。但在这些主要的气候污染源之外，还有无数看似不那么明显的问题需要解决。重工业（包括钢铁生产）就是一个主要领域，约占全球温室气体排放量的 7%。Laureen Meroueh 正在利用一种新型熔炉制造更清洁、更廉价的钢铁，该熔炉简化了生产金属所需的化学过程。

Plastics are generally made with fossil fuels, so we’ll need alternatives to this incredibly useful category of materials. Joseph Nguthiru is making a bioplastic replacement for fossil-derived packaging that uses an invasive weed. Also using available materials in a creative way, Diana Orembe is making fish food for aquaculture with food waste. And refrigerants are often incredibly powerful greenhouse gases. Jinyoung Seo is developing solid refrigerants that could eliminate worries about leakage. A device using these materials could reduce energy consumption by 20% compared to conventional technology.

塑料通常由化石燃料制成，因此我们需要这种极其有用的材料类别的替代品。Joseph Nguthiru 正在利用一种入侵杂草制造生物塑料，以替代化石基包装材料。同样以创造性的方式利用现有材料，Diana Orembe 正在利用食物垃圾为水产养殖业制作鱼饲料。此外，制冷剂通常是威力巨大的温室气体。Jinyoung Seo 正在开发固体冷却剂，这可以消除对泄漏的担忧。使用这些材料的设备与传统技术相比，可降低 20% 的能耗。

I’m constantly learning about new challenges we face in the climate and energy world, and I’m often surprised by the ideas people are coming up with to address them. For more on all the under-35 innovators and their work, check out our full 2026 list. This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here.

我不断了解到我们在气候和能源领域面临的新挑战，也经常被人们为解决这些问题而提出的想法所惊艳。欲了解更多关于所有 35 岁以下创新者及其工作的信息，请查看我们完整的 2026 年榜单。本文摘自《麻省理工科技评论》的每周气候通讯《The Spark》。如需每周三在收件箱中接收此通讯，请点击此处订阅。