DOE Wants 5X Improvement In Batteries In 5 Years 305
dcblogs writes "The U.S. Dept. of Energy has set a goal to develop battery and energy storage technologies that are five times more powerful and five times cheaper within five years. DOE is creating a new center at Argonne National Laboratory, at a cost of $120 million over five years, that's intended to reproduce development environments that were successfully used by Bell Laboratories and World War II's Manhattan Project. 'When you had to deliver the goods very, very quickly, you needed to put the best scientists next to the best engineers across disciplines to get very focused,' said U.S. Energy Secretary Stephen Chu, on Friday. The Joint Center for Energy Storage Research isn't designed to seek incremental improvements in existing technologies. This technology hub, according to DOE's solicitation (PDF), 'should foster new energy storage designs that begin with a "clean sheet of paper" — overcoming current manufacturing limitations through innovation to reduce complexity and cost.' Other research labs, universities and private companies are participating in the effort."
Re:Chu! (Score:0, Funny)
Right. As if the Bush administration was such a boon to science?
Re:Just Dictate & it will Happen... (Score:2, Funny)
I must have missed the part where the government is requiring these new, powerful batteries to be used in wrist watches.
Re:Chu! (Score:5, Funny)
Chu is just as one dimensional ...
Nonsense. In addition to his many accomplishments in physics, he has contributed to several other fields, and even invented the Scroll Lock Key [explainxkcd.com], which was a major advance for personal computers of the time.
Re:So...? (Score:4, Funny)
I want a pony that flies. I bet I'll get *my* wish first.
Re:Chu! (Score:3, Funny)
As an employee of the DOE, I have to say I find your optimism concerning this boondoggle is quite, quite amusing.