Startup uses AI-powered mirrors to help make cement and glass without ever using fossil fuels

A startup backed by billionaire Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, says a breakthrough in solar technology may revolutionize 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. That extreme heat is a first for solar-powered systems like Heliogens and, according to the company, could be used as an environmentally friendly way of creating crucial materials like cement, glass, and steel. As noted by CNN, Heliogen's system could drastically impact global emissions - roughly 7 percent of of C02 released into Earth's environment are from manufacturing cement alone according to the International Energy Agency.