Since taking office two years ago Mr Ritter has signed legislation requiring 20% of state energy to be produced from renewable sources by 2020, and hasformed a research partnership between Colorado's universities and the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, west of Denver.
The fabric Jonathan Engel and Chang Liu have producedhas a similar strength to nylon and can conduct electricity thanks to the way it is formed by interlocking rings and rectangles of about 500 microns in width.