Mateo Jaramillo is the co-founder and CEO of Form Energy, which is creating a new kind of battery that could change the power sector—and its using iron rather than lithium to do this. These batteries are expected to be among the longest-lasting and most affordable in the world, and would help reduce variability and reliability issues from using wind or solar power. In May 2023, Jaramillo broke ground on building the company’s first commercial battery factory, on the site of a former steel mill in West Virginia. The factory aims to create 750 jobs to manufacture batteries capable of providing 100 hours of energy per charge. As Jaramillo told TIME at the end of last year: “We’re going to be hitting the renewable targets sooner than expected. [That means] the technology that Form is working on becomes relevant, much sooner, at a much larger scale. It’s a massive rising tide that’s lifting many boats.”
- How the Electoral College Actually Works
- Your Vote Is Safe
- Mel Robbins Will Make You Do It
- Why Vinegar Is So Good for You
- The Surprising Health Benefits of Pain
- You Don’t Have to Dread the End of Daylight Saving
- The 20 Best Halloween TV Episodes of All Time
- Meet TIME's Newest Class of Next Generation Leaders