Stone to Silicon

Timeline · 101 technologies

Energy

c. 1 million years ago to February 2026. Each one is placed by when it first worked.

Open the living tree

  1. c. 1 million years agoControl of fireHominins learn to keep and use fire: the first energy technology outside the body.
  2. c. 17,000 years agoOil lampBurning animal fat in a stone cup gives portable, controllable light.
  3. c. 6,000 BCECharcoal makingSlow-burning wood without air yields a clean, hot fuel for metalworking.
  4. c. 4,000 BCEDraft animal powerOxen pulling plows add several times a human's muscle power to farm work.
  5. c. 300 BCEWatermillFlowing water turns a wheel, the first power source that never tires.
  6. c. 100 BCESichuan gas wellsChinese brine drillers pipe natural gas through bamboo to boil salt.
  7. 619 CETide millA pond fills at high tide and drives a mill wheel on the ebb.
  8. c. 700 CEWindmillPersian vertical-axis mills grind grain using the steady winds of Sistan.
  9. c. 1000Coal as industrial fuelSong China fires its iron furnaces with coal, the first fossil fuel economy.
  10. 1185Post millEuropean horizontal-axis windmills pivot on a post to face the wind.
  11. 1698Savery steam pumpCondensing steam creates a vacuum that sucks water from mines.
  12. 1712Newcomen steam engineAn atmospheric beam engine pumps a coal mine: the first practical heat engine.
  13. 1776Watt steam engineA separate condenser cuts fuel use by about three quarters and launches the Industrial Revolution.
  14. 1792Coal gas lightingGas distilled from coal lights streets and factories through iron pipes.
  15. c. 1800High-pressure steam engineTrevithick drops the condenser and uses strong steam for compact, mobile engines.
  16. 1800Voltaic batteryVolta stacks zinc and copper discs to produce the first steady electric current.
  17. 1827Water turbineFourneyron's enclosed turbine extracts far more energy than an open wheel.
  18. 1839Fuel cellHydrogen and oxygen combine on platinum to make electricity directly.
  19. 1839Photovoltaic effectLight falling on an electrode in electrolyte makes a current.
  20. 1846KeroseneA cheap, clean-burning lamp fuel distilled from coal and then petroleum.
  21. 1849Francis turbineAn inward-flow turbine that becomes the workhorse of hydroelectricity.
  22. c. 1856Heat pumpRunning a heat engine backwards moves several units of heat per unit of work.
  23. 1856Oil refineryLukasiewicz opens a plant to distill crude oil into lamp fuel.
  24. 1859Lead-acid batteryPlanté's lead plates in acid make the first rechargeable battery.
  25. 1859Oil drillingDrake's steam-driven drill strikes oil at 21 m in Pennsylvania.
  26. 1866Self-excited dynamoA generator that powers its own magnets turns mechanical work into electricity at scale.
  27. 1876Electric arc lightingDazzling carbon arcs light boulevards, lighthouses and factories.
  28. 1878Hydroelectric powerFalling water turns a turbine that turns a dynamo.
  29. 1879Incandescent light bulbA glowing carbon filament in vacuum gives safe indoor electric light.
  30. 1882Electric power gridCentral stations sell electricity to many customers through wires.
  31. 1883Fritts selenium solar cellFritts coats selenium with gold leaf to make a thin-film solar cell.
  32. 1884Steam turbineParsons spins a multi-stage turbine at 18,000 rpm to drive a dynamo directly.
  33. 1885TransformerClosed iron cores step voltage up for transmission and down for homes.
  34. 1886AC power systemTransformers make alternating current the winning way to distribute power.
  35. 1887Wind electricityA cloth-sailed turbine in a Scottish garden charges batteries for lighting.
  36. 1888AC induction motorTesla's rotating magnetic field drives a rugged, brushless motor.
  37. 1891Three-phase transmissionA 175 km line from Lauffen to Frankfurt proves long-distance AC.
  38. 1895Niagara Falls power plantWestinghouse generators at Niagara send AC power to Buffalo.
  39. 1901Spindletop gusherRotary drilling hits a Texas salt dome gushing 100,000 barrels a day.
  40. 1904Geothermal powerVolcanic steam at Larderello lights five bulbs, then an Italian grid.
  41. 1907Pumped-storage hydroSurplus power pumps water uphill to run back down when needed.
  42. 1913Solar thermal engineParabolic troughs raise steam to pump Nile water in Egypt.
  43. 1913Thermal crackingHeat and pressure break heavy oil into more gasoline.
  44. 1925Fischer-Tropsch processCoal-derived syngas is converted into liquid hydrocarbon fuels.
  45. 1933National gridBritain links its power stations into one synchronized 132 kV network.
  46. 1936Rural electrificationPublic programs string lines to farms private utilities skipped.
  47. 1938Nuclear fissionUranium nuclei split under neutron bombardment, releasing enormous energy.
  48. 1939Gas turbine power plantA combustion turbine generates electricity with no boiler at all.
  49. 1941Smith-Putnam turbineThe first megawatt wind turbine feeds the Vermont grid.
  50. 1942Fluid catalytic crackingA fluidized catalyst powder cracks crude into high-octane fuel continuously.
  51. 1942Nuclear reactorChicago Pile-1 achieves the first self-sustaining chain reaction.
  52. 1947Hydraulic fracturingPressurized fluid cracks rock to free trapped oil and gas.
  53. 1947Offshore oil drillingKerr-McGee drills a well out of sight of land in the Gulf of Mexico.
  54. 1951First nuclear electricityAn Idaho breeder reactor lights four bulbs with atomic power.
  55. 1951StellaratorTwisted magnetic fields try to confine a fusion plasma.
  56. 1952First thermonuclear fusionIvy Mike proves humans can release energy by fusing hydrogen isotopes.
  57. 1954HVDC transmissionMercury-arc valves send DC power undersea to Gotland.
  58. 1954Obninsk grid reactorA 5 MW Soviet reactor becomes the first to feed a public grid.
  59. 1954Silicon solar cellBell Labs makes a 6% efficient silicon cell from transistor-era doping.
  60. 1956Gedser wind turbineJuul's three-bladed, upwind, stall-regulated design becomes the Danish concept.
  61. 1957Pressurized water reactorShippingport adapts the submarine reactor design for civilian power.
  62. 1958TokamakA doughnut-shaped magnetic bottle becomes fusion's leading design.
  63. 1959Liquefied natural gas shippingGas chilled to minus 162 C shrinks 600-fold and crosses oceans by ship.
  64. 1960Boiling water reactorWater boils in the core and drives the turbine directly.
  65. c. 1960Combined-cycle gas plantGas turbine exhaust raises steam for a second turbine, topping 60% efficiency.
  66. 1966Tidal barrageA 240 MW barrage across the Rance estuary harvests the tides.
  67. 1967Binary-cycle geothermalA low-boiling working fluid turns merely warm water into electricity.
  68. 1967Pebble-bed reactorFuel in graphite balls cooled by helium runs at 950 C.
  69. 1975Ethanol fuel programBrazil's Proalcool runs a national car fleet on sugarcane ethanol.
  70. 1976Intercalation cathodesLithium ions slot in and out of a layered crystal, making rechargeable lithium possible.
  71. 1980Commercial fast breederA sodium-cooled fast reactor at Beloyarsk runs at grid scale for decades.
  72. 1982Concentrated solar powerFields of mirrors focus sunlight on a tower to run a steam turbine.
  73. 1983Joint European TorusEurope's giant tokamak sets fusion energy records for 40 years.
  74. 1986Vanadium flow batteryEnergy stored in tanks of liquid electrolyte scales independently of power.
  75. 1989Nickel-metal hydride batteryA hydrogen-absorbing alloy replaces toxic cadmium and holds more charge.
  76. 1989PERC solar cellA passivated rear surface lifts silicon cells to record efficiencies.
  77. 1991Lithium-ion batterySony ships a safe rechargeable lithium cell with a carbon anode.
  78. 1991Offshore wind farmEleven turbines off Denmark tap the steadier sea winds.
  79. 1996Lithium iron phosphate batteryA cobalt-free cathode trades some energy for safety, longevity and low cost.
  80. 1998Shale gas revolutionSlickwater fracking of the Barnett Shale unlocks vast tight gas and oil.
  81. 2009Perovskite solar cellA cheap, solution-processed crystal leaps from 3.8% to over 26% efficiency.
  82. 2010Ultra-high-voltage DC linesChina moves hydro and solar power 2,000 km across the country at 800 kV.
  83. 2012Three Gorges DamThe largest power station ever built reaches 22.5 GW.
  84. 2017Floating offshore windTurbines on floating spars reach deep waters beyond fixed foundations.
  85. 2017Grid-scale battery storageA 100 MW battery in South Australia stabilizes the grid in milliseconds.
  86. 2018Generation III+ reactorsPassive safety systems cool the core for days with no power or operator action.
  87. 2019Gigawatt-scale offshore windHornsea One reaches 1.2 GW with 7 MW turbines 120 km offshore.
  88. 2020Small modular reactorFactory-built reactors of tens of megawatts aim to cut nuclear costs.
  89. 2020Solar becomes cheapest powerModule prices fall over 99% and solar undercuts fossil power.
  90. 2021High-temperature superconducting magnetA 20 tesla REBCO magnet shrinks the size a power-producing tokamak needs.
  91. 2022Fusion ignition (NIF)A laser-driven capsule releases more fusion energy than the light that hit it.
  92. 2022Terawatt of solarGlobal installed solar capacity passes one terawatt.
  93. 2023Enhanced geothermal systemsShale drilling methods make hot dry rock a power source almost anywhere.
  94. 2023HTR-PM pebble-bed plantChina runs the first commercial high-temperature gas-cooled modular reactor.
  95. 2023Perovskite-silicon tandem recordStacking perovskite on silicon beats the single-junction efficiency limit.
  96. 2023Sodium-ion batteryAbundant sodium replaces lithium in cheap, cold-tolerant cells.
  97. 2023Terawatt of windGlobal wind capacity passes one terawatt.
  98. 2025Long-pulse fusion plasmasSuperconducting tokamaks hold hot plasmas for over 1,000 seconds.
  99. October 2025Renewables overtake coalFor the first time, renewables make more of the world's electricity than coal.
  100. February 2026Mass-production sodium-ion carA car battery built without lithium, good to 400 km at -40 °C.
  101. February 2026First private D-T fusionA privately built machine fuses deuterium and tritium at 150 million degrees.

Projections 5

  1. around 2031Small modular reactors in serviceFactory-built reactors arrive by truck and slot into old coal sites and data-centre campuses.
  2. around 2032Cheap long-duration grid storageBatteries and other stores that hold days of power make solar and wind dispatchable around the clock.
  3. around 2034Enhanced geothermal at scaleDrilling rigs borrowed from the shale industry tap hot rock almost anywhere for firm clean power.
  4. around 2045Commercial fusion electricityA fusion plant sends net electricity to the grid on a commercial contract.
  5. around 2045Space-based solar powerOrbital solar arrays beam power to the ground by microwave, day and night.