Its technology vaporizes germanium sulfide and cools it into 20-30 nanometer layers that, as they're combined, turn into nanoflowers: elegant structures that might look like the carnation on a prom dress or tuxedo, but are really energy storage cells with much more capacity than traditional cells occupying the same area.

ENGADGET: NC State nanoflowers can boost battery and solar cell capacity, make great prom accessories

But government has a long history of encouraging emerging technologies, and that continues, from energy storage to fuel cells.

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The evolution of woody plants has solved the problem of capture (photosynthesis) and storage (formation of durable cells) at minimal cost.

ECONOMIST: The benefits of CCS

Qualcomm chief Paul Jacobs talked about addressing the problem by adding a series of ultra-small communications cells, and storage methods, to ease the data load from the overall network.

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This new breakthrough -- when combined with the DNA-based data storage and a method to transmit DNA between cells the school's already working on -- means that Stanford has created all the necessary components of a biologic computer.

ENGADGET

Engineers put the vehicle's guts in an 11-inch-thick platform that contains the fuel cells, electric motors, brakes, suspension and hydrogen storage.

FORBES: Magazine Article