World investment in renewable energy will top $2 trillion on a cumulative basis from 2010 through 2015. Were the companies building these generating plants to utilize existing, commercially available nanotechnologies, ABI Research estimates, over the same five-year period renewable power producers could save nearly $300 billion in capital expenditure.

In converging and integrating technologies, smart systems make possible to predict, decide and interact with the environment. With the launch of the COWIN initiative, the European Research community has engaged in a new step towards value creation in miniaturized smart systems.

Fujitsu Labs says it has developed a hybrid device that harvests energy and generates electricity from either heat or light, resulting in an economical device with potential use in sensor networks and medical technologies.

Reno-based Altair Nanotechnologies, Inc. has been selected by Inversiones Energéticas, S.A. de C.V. (INE), one of El Salvador's largest electric utilities, to provide a turn-key 10 MW lithium-titanate based battery system, dubbed "ALTI-ESS," for frequency control.

A team of researchers at the University of Maryland is working to harness and exploiting the "self-renewing" and "self-assembling" properties of viruses for a higher purpose: to build a new generation of small, powerful and highly efficient batteries and fuel cells.

SUSS MicroTec announced a strategic collaboration with the Cornell NanoScale Science & Technology Facility (CNF). As part of the cooperation, Cornell staff will perform research using SUSS lithography equipment, including enhanced contact aligner tool sets and a Gamma spray coater.

Surrey NanoSystems announced the first sales of its new nanomaterial growth system, the NanoGrowth-Catalyst, to the École Polytechnique of Montreal and the University of Surrey's Advanced Technology Institute.

Vorbeck Materials secured an additional $2.785 million in a fully subscribed series 2b financing, which was completed December 30, 2010. Fairbridge Venture Partners and Stoneham Partners led the round, along with individual investors.

University of Michigan-Dearborn mechanical engineering Prof. Pravansu Mohanty's start-up company, CSquared Innovations, won a $25,000 Next Gen Manufacturing Award. The company uses nano-structured films and materials for diverse applications.

ActaCell Inc. was awarded up to $3 million over a 3-year period in funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s NIST. The funding will focus on production scale up of nanocomposite alloy anode materials for lithium-ion batteries to be used in electric vehicles and other demanding applications.