Asegun Henry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The unconventional energy storage technologies developed by mechanical engineer Asegun Henry, Ph.D., leverage the low cost of heat to convert and store electricity. The mechanical systems developed by Henry and his team allow extremely hot molten liquid metals, like tin, to be handled at record-breaking temperatures (> 1400°C). This technological breakthrough has enabled new, low-cost applications in renewable energy and fuel production. One such technology, coined “sun in a box,” converts and stores electricity from green energy technologies, like solar and wind, on-demand. His fundamental contributions to the physics of heat transfer are helping researchers re-imagine energy technologies.