Small technology, big impact: MemPro Ceramics’ catalytic filters aim to clean up the energy and automotive industries
The next big cleantech innovation may, ironically, come from a company that thinks small. Nanotechnology, a multidisciplinary field of applied science that operates at the atomic or molecular level, is increasingly making the leap from the lab setting to the startup phase, with firms like MemPro Ceramics, a maker of catalytic filters, trying to blaze a new industry.
The company, founded in 2001 and based in Copper Mountain, Colo., uses a ceramic nanofiber filtration technology licensed… Continue Reading
The future of solar is nanotech: Nanogram, Sunflake and other upcoming technologies
With a fresh $32 million funding going to nanotechnoloy firm NanoGram, mainly for development of next-generation solar cells, it’s a good time to point out some up-and-coming technologies that work on very small scales to make photovoltaic cells more efficient.
NanoGram has already had several commercial successes, including inventions in both electronics and medicine. However, the company has of late turned its sights on boosting the efficiency of solar cells.
The company is working on ultra-thin crystalline… Continue Reading
The arrival of flexible chips — a summary
The flexible chips industry doesn’t grab a lot of headlines, but it is bringing together nanotech, biotech, and other technologies to possibly usher in some revolutionary new products.
We’ve been quietly checking up on some of the venture-backed companies in this area, including NanoGram, Plextronics and Plastic Logic. They are few, and slow-moving, but worth a look.
Their potential applications sound straight out of sci-fi: interactive displays embedded in anything from clothing to wall paper, newspapers that… Continue Reading