The United States Naval Research Laboratory is likely to play a role in America’s energy future, and nanotechnology is likely to be a big part of it. The lab has churned out technological breakthroughs for decades – radar and GPS are just two – and on a budget that major corporations and universities would consider laughable. The Navy knows it needs aggressive research to develop game-changing innovation. One project, given the military’s large investment in biofuels, is attempting to increase the energy density of these fuels, and squeeze more power out of them. Nanotechnology is one area they are exploring. Navy scientists, in conjunction with the University of Hawaii, the University of Utah, Louisiana State University and the Naval Academy, have discovered that by adding nanoparticles of boron to liquid fuels, they can increase the energy density of the fuel by as much as 15 to 20 percent. Bhakta Rath, who heads up the materials science division, says if tests go well and the project gets funding, the more powerful fuel could make its way into naval ships in five to seven years and into commercial vessels not long after. Rath’s team is also working on developing spray-on photovoltaics, harvesting electricity from the ocean’s sediment and developing miniature fuel cells to power unmanned vehicles in the air and underwater. “We’re not lacking ideas,” Rath said. “We’re lacking funding.” The article can be viewed online at the link below.