Fusion power
Producing fusion energy is a milestone. Can a complete plant deliver more electricity to the grid than it consumes, repeatedly and with components that survive operation?
Engineering
Within Engineering · Search all subjects
Scalable fault-tolerant quantum computing
Error correction can protect small quantum computations. Can those ingredients become a machine that runs large, useful calculations with controlled errors and manageable resources?
Solid-state batteries
Solid electrolytes promise new battery designs. Can a lithium-metal cell combine high energy, repeated cycling, safe operation, and manufacturability without impractical mechanical pressure?
Lithium–sulfur batteries
Sulfur offers attractive battery capacity, but a practical cell must keep that capacity through many cycles without hiding its weaknesses behind excess electrolyte or lithium.
Artificial photosynthesis
Devices can use sunlight to make fuels. Can direct solar-fuel systems remain efficient, selective, safe, and durable as they grow beyond carefully controlled demonstrations?
Carbon dioxide electrolysis
Electricity can turn carbon dioxide into useful chemicals. Can an electrolyzer do so with durable operation, efficient carbon use, and a favorable whole-system energy and emissions balance?
Implantable bioartificial kidney
A compact implanted device could combine blood filtration with living kidney cells. Can it provide enough continuous function to replace dialysis safely for long periods?
Perovskite solar module durability
Perovskite solar cells can be highly efficient. Can full modules keep that performance through decades of outdoor light, heat, moisture and partial shading?
Electrochemical ammonia synthesis
Electricity can convert nitrogen into ammonia in the laboratory. Can a process sustain useful production rates with low total energy use and long-lived reactors?
Thermal PFAS mineralization
Heating can remove PFAS from waste without fully destroying it. How can thermal treatment prevent incomplete breakdown products and escaping fluorinated vapours?
Electrochemical direct air capture
Electrochemical cells can capture carbon dioxide from air. Can larger stacks sustain that performance while purifying the gas and keeping airflow resistance manageable?
Electrochemical lithium extraction from geothermal brines
Electrochemical cells can selectively recover lithium from geothermal-like brines. Can industrially made electrodes keep that performance during prolonged exposure to hot, impurity-rich feeds?
Direct seawater electrolysis
Can hydrogen production work reliably in the changing conditions of the open ocean?
Low-iridium PEM electrolysis
Can acidic water electrolysers retain efficiency and long operating life while using much less iridium?
All-photonic quantum repeaters
Can photonic repeaters distribute useful entanglement over many links without long-lived matter memories?
Neural-implant lifetime testing
Can short laboratory tests predict how implanted brain electrodes will fail over years?
Noninvasive continuous glucose monitoring
Can a skin-worn sensor track glucose reliably over everyday life without repeated invasive calibration?
Small-diameter vascular grafts
Can a readily available artificial small artery remain open and remodel safely for long-term human use?
Deep-tissue sound printing
Sound can form injected materials inside tissue. How can a printer keep its pattern in the right place as deep tissue moves?
Wearable cardiac ultrasound
Wearable ultrasound can track deep tissues. How can heart measurements stay calibrated when a flexible array bends and its contact changes?
Closed-loop lower-limb neuroprostheses
Can an artificial leg return useful sensation and respond naturally to its user during unexpected movement?
Fully implantable speech neuroprostheses
Can a fully implanted wireless interface provide dependable everyday speech communication?
High-precision analog in-memory computing
Several methods correct errors in analog memory calculations. How should they be combined when inputs, noise and conversion costs change?
Grain-structure control in metal 3D printing
Can laser printing reliably produce a chosen grain structure without cracking the alloy?