Nanotechnologies for Climate Solutions: Thinking Big

Step-change improvements in sustainability technologies, not mere incremental changes, will be required to address short timelines to dangerous climate tipping points, according to a new Comment in Nature Nanotechnology co-authored by Jeff Miller, program officer in nanoscience at The Kavli Foundation. In this piece, “Nanotechnology solutions for the climate crisis,” the authors consider how nanotechnologies can deliver these step-changes because nanostructures are themselves a step-change: orders of magnitude smaller than bulk systems, inherently existing at the scale where energy and matter manifest. The Comment highlights opportunities for those working to minimize the climate crisis and provides a framework for the nanotechnology community to answer the call to action on this global issue.

“Philanthropy has an important role in supporting fundamental science with the potential to advance science and technology of the future,” said Cynthia Friend, president and CEO of The Kavli Foundation. “Philanthropy can make investments in untested scientific ideas that are too early stage to be funded by government sources. Ideally, partnerships would form around promising research areas seeded by philanthropy, sustaining them all the way to practical applications.”

The publication—itself a collaboration between authors from government, industry, and philanthropy—reinforces the need for collaboration and partnerships to support and accelerate solutions from the lab to the marketplace.

The Kavli Foundation funds innovative nanoscience research in areas like environmental sustainability. Current projects that the foundation supports include pursuits for sustainable materials, and novel quantum effects that could eventually help reduce the energy consumption of data processing.