The Soviet Union developed formidable expertise in the art of assassination, and (as a by-product of its germ-war and poison-gas efforts) in making toxins.
Over half of them involve reducing emissions of trifluoromethane, a by-product of refrigerant and Teflon production and an especially nasty greenhouse gas.
"Instead of betting on short-term cycles, people are investing in the longer-term story" of U.S. economic growth backed by innovation in shale-gas technology, said Kunihiro Asai, Nikko Asset Management's head of product development.
By extracting electrons and energy-laden gas, his 2006-founded company, Cambrian Innovation, has developed a product that can cut the cost of treating wastewater by 30% to 60%, depending on the application area.