It’s the most porous material known to man, which means it would be perfect for storing hydrogen, or for keeping CO2 from factories out of the air. Meet the metal organic framework.
They’re the size of a ballpoint pen and are shattering benchmarks for how much of the sun’s energy they can convert. Is this the solar tech that can get us truly powered by the sun?
ARPA-E is modeled after DARPA and financing one groundbreaking energy innovation after another. Arun Majumdar, the agency's director, talks about some of the projects it's funding, from biofuels grown on electrodes to air conditioners that crush current efficiency standards.
The DOE's latest round of funding focuses on finding alternatives to rare earth metals, which are found in everything from wind turbines to computer hard drives.
ARPA-E is the U.S. Department of Energy program that awards grants to "moonshot" green technologies. The latest round goes to offbeat ideas like cryogenic carbon capture, nano-magnets, and some very large kites.
Apple grabbed the exclusive rights this week for amorphous, non-crystalline metal alloys owned by Liquidmetal Technologies as part of what is presumably a plan to make even stronger, lighter electronic devices. But Apple doesn't own metal.
