A June heatwave in Texas demonstrated how climate-forward technology kicks into gear during a weather emergency. As temperatures exceeded 110 degrees Fahrenheit in several cities, air conditioner usage helped push electricity demand to new records. At the same time, the heat reduced the power output from coal, natural gas, and even nuclear plants because they became harder to keep cool.

Such a scenario might have resulted in blackouts if the state’s installed base of wind and solar generation hadn’t risen to the occasion to take up the slack. In fact, sunny skies and steady winds pushed electricity from renewables to record levels just when they were most needed. Moreover, the state’s grid controlling authority tapped into a brand-new backup battery system (completed less than a week before the outage) to compensate for the sudden drop in nuclear power.

The transition from carbon-based power sources to new ones that go lighter on the environment has three key components. Significantly increasing green electricity generation will remove fossil-fuel burning systems from transportation, manufacturing, and home life. Where fuel must be burned, carbon emissions can be greatly reduced by converting to hydrogen fuel. Finally, new technologies can help identify the sources of the most harmful emissions and even remove them from the atmosphere.

Seven breakthrough technologies are coming to meet these challenges.