Reference Sheets
Practical, searchable references for deep-tech diligence and engineering decisions.
Energy
How electricity gets generated, stored, and moved, and what happens to the carbon.
Battery ChemistriesWhich battery chemistry fits this product?Lithium-ion and beyond — energy, power, cycle life, safety, and cost trade-offs across rechargeable, primary, and grid-scale chemistries.52 chemistries
Carbon Capture & RemovalHow does this CO2 get captured, and what does a ton cost?Point-source capture, direct air capture, ocean and mineral removal, biomass and land sinks, plus the pipelines and pore space that store the CO2 — with cost per ton, permanence, and how much of each is actually running.36 approaches
Energy StorageHow should this energy be stored?Beyond batteries — pumped hydro, compressed air, thermal, hydrogen, gravity, and long-duration storage, mapped on the duration-versus-cost axis.27 technologies
Grid & TransmissionHow do you move this power, and what is actually in the way?Overhead lines, underground and subsea cable, HVDC, transformers and switchgear, protection and control, stability services, and the distribution edge — with voltage class, lead time, and how hard each one is to site.34 technologies
Hydrogen and E-FuelsWhere does this hydrogen come from, and what does it cost delivered?Making, moving, storing, and burning hydrogen — electrolyzers, reforming with and without carbon capture, ammonia and other carriers, synthetic fuels, and the industries that already buy 100 Mt a year.31 technologies
Nuclear ReactorsWhich reactor design fits this program?Fission and fusion designs — light-water workhorses, SMRs, molten salt, fast reactors, microreactors, and every major fusion approach — with capex, fuel-cycle, regulatory, and timeline context.25 designs
Power GenerationWhat should generate this electricity?How electricity actually gets made (solar cells, wind, hydro, geothermal, gas turbines, coal, fuel cells), compared on cost, capacity factor, dispatchability, and build time.32 technologies
Robotics and Manufacturing
How parts get made, and the actuators, grippers, and sensors that robots are built from.
Manufacturing ProcessesHow should this part be made?Producing stock, shaping parts, joining, surface and property modification, semiconductors, optics, and inspection, with selection guidance.212 processes
Robot ActuatorsWhat should move this robot?Motors, gearing, fluid power, piezo, and artificial muscles — compared on torque density, backdrivability, precision, and cost.25 actuator types
Robot End EffectorsHow should this robot grasp and work?Grippers, hands, and process tools, from parallel-jaw to vacuum, soft, jamming, and dexterous, compared on task fit, versatility, reliability, and cost.16 effector types
Robot SensorsHow should this robot perceive the world?LiDAR, radar, cameras, IMUs, force-torque, tactile, encoders, and GNSS — compared on range, cost, compute burden, and how they fail.21 sensor types
Materials
Where raw materials come from, how ore becomes metal, and which material to specify.
Critical MineralsWhere does this material actually get refined?Lithium, rare earths, copper, gallium, uranium and the rest — where each one is mined, where it is refined, what a substitute costs, and where the real chokepoints sit.33 materials
Engineering MaterialsWhat should this part be made of?Metals, plastics, elastomers, ceramics, glass, composites, and functional materials — compared on strength-to-weight, service temperature, cost per kg, and how you shape them.32 materials
Mining & Mineral ProcessingHow does this ore become a salable product?Surface and underground mining, solution and in-situ recovery, crushing and grinding, flotation and gravity concentration, hydro- and pyrometallurgy, and tailings and closure — with throughput, energy intensity, and water use for each step.32 processes
Semiconductors
The process steps that turn a blank silicon wafer into a finished chip.
Computing and Photonics
The hardware computing runs on: data center power and cooling, optical components, and quantum platforms.
Data Center InfrastructureHow do you power and cool a rack that draws 130 kW?Power delivery, standby generation and UPS, air and liquid cooling, heat rejection and water, facility types and siting, plus racks, optics and operations — with the rack density each approach supports and whether it fits an existing hall.35 systems
Optics & PhotonicsWhich light source, optic, or detector does this job?Lasers and other light sources, lenses, coatings and fiber, modulators and scanners, detectors from photodiodes to single-photon counters, imaging and spectroscopy, and integrated photonics — with wavelength band, form factor, and unit cost.36 devices
Quantum TechnologiesWhich qubit or quantum device is worth betting on?Qubit platforms from transmons to neutral atoms, quantum sensing and atomic clocks, quantum communication and post-quantum cryptography, plus the cryogenics, lasers, and error correction underneath — with operating temperature, maturity, and what is actually holding each one back.29 platforms
Defense and Aerospace
How vehicles get to orbit, how they know where they are, and how unwanted ones get stopped.
Counter-UAS and EWHow do you stop a drone without spending more than it cost?Ways to detect and defeat drones — jamming, spoofing, lasers, high-power microwave, guns, interceptors, and nets — plus the wider electronic warfare toolkit, compared on effectiveness, collateral risk, and cost exchange.28 approaches
Propulsion SystemsWhat should push this vehicle, and how fast and how far?Turbofans, ramjets, scramjets, rockets, ion and Hall thrusters, nuclear thermal, and detonation engines — compared on thrust, specific impulse, speed regime, and maturity.41 propulsion types
Sensing and NavigationHow does this system find a target and know where it is?Radar, EO/IR, SIGINT, sonar, hyperspectral and quantum sensing, plus GNSS, inertial, terrain and celestial navigation and missile seekers — compared on range, counter-stealth, jam resistance, and cost.46 technologies
Space Launch and SatellitesHow does this get to orbit, and what does it cost once it is there?Launch vehicles from small lift to super heavy, the orbits worth flying, spacecraft buses, communications and sensing payloads, ground segment, and in-space logistics — compared on mass, cost, orbit, and maturity.32 options
Uncrewed SystemsWhich uncrewed system fits this mission, and what does one cost?Drones and uncrewed vehicles across air, sea, and ground — Group 1–5 UAS, loitering munitions, USVs, UUVs, and UGVs, compared on endurance, payload, autonomy, and cost per unit.33 system classes
Bioprocessing
How living cells get grown at scale and the product gets purified out of them.