Bill Gates-Backed Startup Makes Big Solar Breakthrough

AI-controlled mirrors create solar oven to make cement, glass & steel

A startup backed by billionaire Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, says a breakthrough in solar technology may revolutionise the way materials like steel and glass are created.

The company, called Heliogen, says it uses artificial intelligence to help operate an array of mirrors capable of reflecting and focusing the sun’s light and creating a type of solar oven. The system works so well that they report being able to create temperatures of 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit — about a quarter of the temperature found on the Sun’s surface.