The nano search for batteries

1/25/2010 4:08 PM EST

In December last year NIST announced up to $71 million in funding through its Technology Innovation Program (TIP) for 20 new cost-sharing projects that will support innovative, high-risk research in new technologies that address critical national needs.

The new projects include developing unmanned, hovering aircraft for bridge inspections, a high-speed sorting system for recycling aerospace metals, and nanomaterials for advanced batteries, among other projects.

Vincent Caprio, Executive Director of the NanoBusiness Alliance, is especially proud that nine companies are from what he calls "our nanotechnology community."

Two are research projects in battery technologies.

Amprius, Inc. (Menlo Park, Calif.) received funds for silicon nanowire production for advanced Lithium-Ion batteries.

A123Systems, Inc. (Ann Arbor, Mich.) was funded to scale up high-risk, low-cost carbon nanofiber manufacturing process.

Good start, but needs to be accelerated.

The faster we can find long-lifetime battery solutions the more we will have unthetered devices roaming our factories, schools and offices.