Summary of the Power Systems Workshop on Nanotechnology for the Intelligence Community : Interim Report

The emergence of nanotechnology as a major science and technology research topic has sparked substantial interest by the intelligence community. In particular the community is interested both in the potential for nanotechnology to assist intelligence operations and threats it could create. To explore these questions, the Intelligence Technology Innovation Center asked the National Research Council to conduct a number of activities to illustrate the potential for nanotechnology to address key intelligence community needs. The first of these was a workshop to explore technology opportunities and challenges in power systems that could be addressed by nanotechnology. This report presents a summary of that workshop. It includes an overview of power technologies and discussions on nanoscale properties of energy storage materials, device experience, manufacturing and material handling considerations, and natural power.