Among Fast Company’s 2026 World Changing Ideas, a first large-scale geothermal project from Fervo Energy, nuclear waste recycling efforts by Curio, and cable-free remote internet through Taara are among the standout winners—each aiming to make core resources w
In the story of how modern industries use—and reuse—resources, the most striking moment isn’t a breakthrough slogan. It’s a set of projects built to do the same job with less waste, less downtime, and fewer new inputs.
Fast Company’s 2026 World Changing Ideas put eight companies under that spotlight. from geothermal power that’s meant to run day and night to ideas that treat “spent” material like a starting point again. Some projects turn unconventional inputs into new outputs: an invasive starfish. for example. has been explored as a deicer. and oil-and-gas drilling techniques are being adapted to advance geothermal energy.
The winners named by the program show where the resource rethink is getting concrete—through grids, materials, and connectivity.
Cape Station, Fervo Energy
Cape Station, Fervo Energy’s first large-scale geothermal power project, is set to begin feeding electricity to the grid later this year. The project is working with Southern California Edison, and Fervo plans to scale to 100 megawatts by 2027.
Cape Station is positioned as a response to a common limitation of renewable generation: intermittent output. Unlike wind and solar, the project is described as providing reliable 24/7 baseload power. The site is located in Beaver County in southwestern Utah.
The approach is built on horizontal drilling techniques adapted from the oil and gas industry. Founder and CEO Tim Latimer used advanced horizontal drilling to create geothermal wells, with water circulated through hot rock to generate electricity.
Fervo’s funding and market ambition are now tied directly to the project’s rollout. The company is going public on Nasdaq with a $3 billion valuation. Within the program’s framing. Cape Station is presented as a breakthrough in making geothermal energy “accessible and affordable at scale” in order to support America’s clean energy needs.
NuCycle nuclear waste recycling, Curio
Curio is also a winner in the program for its work to turn spent nuclear fuel into minimal waste and reenrichable uranium. The listing places the company’s effort under the banner of “NuCycle,” signaling a shift from disposal toward reuse.
Wireless optical communication, Taara
Even for readers who never think of internet access as a resource problem, the program makes the connection clear. Taara’s win focuses on enabling cable-free internet in remote places.
Taara is described as making it easier to get fiber-speed internet to remote areas without needing to dig for new cable. The framing here doesn’t treat connectivity as inevitable—it treats it as something that can be delivered with less disruption to land and infrastructure.
Honorable mentions broaden the picture
Alongside the winners, the program also listed honorable mentions that extend the “resource rethink” beyond energy and connectivity.
Cecilia is named for circular carbon from plastic waste. LSPS Solutions appears for a digital manual for municipal utilities. Ecoplanta and Mormedi are both included—Ecoplanta is listed under the program’s sustainable resource lens. while Mormedi is grouped with it among the honorable mentions. ECL is cited for a hydrogen-powered data center. Star’s Tech appears with Starcrush.
The broader theme stretches across the list: projects are taking what’s often treated as waste—or as an unavoidable constraint—and redesigning it. Spent nuclear fuel becomes a path toward reenrichable uranium. Geothermal becomes a grid-ready alternative built with oil-and-gas drilling know-how. Remote internet becomes something delivered without digging.
Taken together, the winners in Fast Company’s 2026 World Changing Ideas don’t just claim better outcomes. They point to operational targets—feeding electricity to the grid later this year. scaling to 100 megawatts by 2027. delivering reliable 24/7 baseload power. and enabling fiber-speed connectivity without new cable. When the focus turns to resources this way. the measure of “innovation” becomes less about novelty and more about whether it can work at real-world scale.
Fast Company World Changing Ideas 2026 Fervo Energy Cape Station geothermal Southern California Edison Nasdaq Curio NuCycle spent nuclear fuel Taara wireless optical communication cable-free internet circular carbon Cecilia LSPS Solutions Ecoplanta Mormedi ECL hydrogen-powered data center Starcrush Star’s Tech
Wait geothermal in Utah is gonna power stuff 24/7? Seems too good, like who’s paying for the “less waste” part?
So they’re recycling nuclear waste now and also doing remote internet?? This is giving “everything at once” energy. I’m not against it, but I’m also like… can they actually make the geothermal wells not mess up the ground?
Cape Station sounds like it’s in Utah which is good for them but isn’t geothermal basically the same as fracking? Like horizontal drilling and all that, so if it’s “clean” why am I hearing people complain about groundwater and stuff.
Cable-free remote internet winning too?? I saw a headline like this and thought it was about Starlink or something. If they can do that with Taara then cool, but also these articles always say “less downtime” and then it still breaks when it rains or whatever.