1800 CE
Volta’s electric battery
Alessandro Volta’s voltaic pile provides the first steady source of electric current. Source — Wikipedia:
Chronological Storyline (12 Milestones)
1831 CE
Faraday’s electromagnetic induction
Michael Faraday shows moving magnets generate current, the principle behind every generator. Source — Wikipedia:
1859 CE
The rechargeable battery
Gaston Planté invents the lead–acid cell, the first practical rechargeable energy store. Source — Wikipedia:
1882 CE
Edison’s Pearl Street DC grid
Edison opens the first central power station, distributing direct current to Manhattan customers. Source — Wikipedia:
1891 CE
AC power transmission wins
Tesla and Westinghouse’s alternating current, demonstrated long-distance at Lauffen–Frankfurt, becomes the grid standard. Source — Wikipedia:
1942 CE
First nuclear chain reaction
Enrico Fermi’s Chicago Pile-1 achieves the first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear fission reaction. Source — Wikipedia:
1954 CE
First grid nuclear power
The Soviet Obninsk plant becomes the first reactor to supply electricity to a power grid. Source — Wikipedia:
1954 CE
Practical silicon solar cell
Bell Labs unveils the first efficient silicon photovoltaic cell, making solar electricity viable. Source — Wikipedia:
1980 CE
Modern wind power scales up
Grid-connected wind farms expand from Denmark and California, integrating renewables at scale. Source — Wikipedia:
1991 CE
Lithium-ion battery commercialised
Sony commercialises the lithium-ion battery (Goodenough, Whittingham, Yoshino), enabling portable power. Source — Wikipedia:
2019 CE
China’s ultra-high-voltage grid
China builds the world’s longest UHV lines, moving bulk renewable power thousands of kilometres. Source — Wikipedia:
2025 CE
Fusion energy milestones (ITER)
International ITER and ignition experiments pursue net-energy fusion, the long-sought clean prime energy source. Source — Wikipedia: