U.S. Industry Racing Global Competitors to Develop Innovative Nano Technology

The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) today released the findings of its latest survey of the U.S. nanotechnology industry.  This is the third NCMS survey sponsored in the past decade by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to gauge the momentum of the nanotechnology development and deployment in the U.S manufacturing industry.

2009 NCMS Nanotechnology Report (PDF)

The survey targeted key players throughout the manufacturing landscape, providing valuable insights on myriad of precompetitive and strategic issues influencing their organizations’ pursuit of nanotechnology, an inter-disciplinary field involving the control of matter at the atomic and molecular scale of 1 to 100 nanometers.

The data shows that U.S. manufacturers are increasingly using nano-enhanced materials to improve their products, having indentified nanotechnology as being vital to competing globally.  Small particles translate into big advantages in durability and functionality, ultimately benefiting consumers. Many companies have realized the need to quickly integrate nanotechnology into their strategic plans.

However, the enthusiasm of these manufacturers is tempered with the daunting challenges that many face when adopting nanotechnology into their production.  These challenges include a lack of awareness of nanotechnology’s potential advantages as well as access to the required design tools and training.  Those surveyed cited a lack of access to capital to fund investment in new technologies. Some of these challenges have been managed by engaging in collaborative R&D where risk and cost is shared and technology transfer is inherent, giving these manufacturers a competitive edge over those that pursue R&D on their own.

“Nanotechnology represents a major opportunity for manufacturers,” said NCMS President & CEO, Rick Jarman. “We are using our proven collaborative process to neutralize the challenges and accelerate the adoption of cutting edge technologies like nano for U.S. Manufacturers.”

The data showed that while the U.S. nanotechnology industry is currently well positioned to compete globally, foreign R&D investment is increasing and poses a significant risk.

“This latest survey indicates that nanotechnology is becoming a general purpose technology as envisioned in NSF’s Nanotechnology Research Directions report issued in 2000,” said Dr. Mihail C. Roco, Senior Advisor for Nanotechnology to the NSF and founding chair of the National Science and Technology Council’s subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology (NSET).  “More than half of the surveyed companies will have activities in this emerging field and foreign competition is increasing particularly from Asia and the European Community.”

For more information contact Dr. Manish Mehta, at (734) 995-4938, manishm@ncms.org.

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Dr. Manish Mehta, NCMS Executive Director and Principal Investigator of the 2009 NCMS-NSF Nanotechnology Industry Commercialization Study Project, will present highlights of the 2009 industry survey project at a Plenary Session on “Education, Innovation and Entrepreneurship” during the Spring 2010 Meeting of the Ohio Section of American Physical Society (OSAPS) being held at Kettering University, Flint, MI on Saturday, May 1, 2010.  The talk is titled, “Profile of Clean Technology Commercialization in the U.S.”

Over 270 senior industry executives participated in the 2009 NCMS Nanomanufacturing Industry Survey sponsored by the National Science Foundation – it is the third study conducted by NCMS (previous studies were done in 2003 and 2005), and is the largest cross-industry survey on nanotechnology commercialization trends in the U.S.

The NCMS survey indicates that nanotechnology products are fast becoming commonplace, and that products addressing clean technologies such as energy efficiency, materials, storage and environmentally conscious manufacturing are the fastest-growing applications of nanotechnology in leading segments of the U.S. Manufacturing Industry.  The presentation will highlight key growth markets over the next five years, collaboration patterns, infrastructure characteristics, and business strategy trends across all regions of the United States, which remains the world leader in nanotechnology innovation and entrepreneurialism.

The talk will include a discussion on the impact of the 2008-09 recession on entrepreneurialism in nanotechnology. The survey found that the U.S. Nanotechnology Industry weathered the recent economic storm by consolidation of weaker organizations, and is ready to emerge stronger and better focused on integrating nanoscale materials and processes into value-adding products and systems across many market segments.  The information developed by NCMS is especially useful for benchmarking commercialization practices, identifying common concerns in nanomanufacturing, and assessing the impact of public-private investments such as the National Nanotechnology Initiative.

Spring 2010 Meeting of the Ohio Section of American Physical Society (OSAPS)

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NCMS is promoting the "2009 Industry Survey of Nanotechnology in the U.S. Manufacturing Industry," at the 2009 Nano Business Conference on September 8-10, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois.  NCMS members attending will receive $200 off the published $599 Registration fee (just mention Registration Code: NCMS).

Click on http://www.nanobusiness2009.com for program details and registration and remember to visit the NCMS booth to learn about the current Nanotechnology Survey.

Nanotechnology is the frontier of innovation across almost every sector of our economy. Our future economic competitiveness, particularly in the manufacturing sector, depends upon it. Nanotechnology is improving our quality of life and enabling a cleaner future for all of us. The NanoBusiness Conference brings together real leaders — entrepreneurs, scientists, Fortune 500 companies, investors and policymakers — to explore key opportunities and challenges to bring nanotech innovations to market. Now in its eighth year, NanoBusiness 2009 will focus on the business and application side of nanotech innovations across multiple sectors, including advanced materials and manufacturing, next generation electronics, medical diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, energy and water technologies, to name a few.

NanoBusiness 2009 Highlights:

• Hear innovation strategies directly from the leaders driving nanotech initiatives within Fortune 500 companies

• Engage with the CEOs of leading companies bringing next generation technologies to market

• Gain from the perspective of leading venture capital investors who have been actively investing in nanotech for over a decade

• Understand the impact of the current economic environment on nanotechnology commercialization

• Participate in real-time, interactive sessions to help you understand the impact of patent reform and proper stewardship for new chemical compliance and workplace regulations.

Nano Business Conference Site

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NCMS has again been selected by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to survey the U.S. Nanotechnology Industry.  Previous efforts in 2003 and 2005 showed a dramatic increase of companies investing in nanotechnology while identifying obstacles that could prevent the commercialization of this vital new class of technologies. 

U.S.-based manufacturing companies working on integrating nanoscale products or processes are encouraged to take the survey at the following link:

http://www.2009usnanosurvey.org/

For additional information contact:

NCMS Principal Investigator, Dr. Manish Mehta, manishm@ncms.org, (734) 995-4938.

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March 13, 2006. The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) has compiled the results of nearly 600 U.S. industry executives who participated in the 2005 NCMS Nanomanufacturing Industry Survey – the largest cross-industry survey of nanotechnology commercialization trends and concerns, sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

This project has yielded compelling insights into how U.S. corporations and research organizations perceive the future of the nanotechnology market. It also addresses the strategic issues related to the commercialization of nanotechnology. The survey abstract is available at: http://www.ncms.org or http://www.nsf.gov/nano/ or directly from the following link:

2005 Nanomanufacturing Survery Abstract (PDF, 247 KB)

“The survey of manufacturing industry units shows the increased significance of nanotechnology to both traditional and emerging fields in the last five years. In 2000, one could identify only a handful of companies with nanotechnology programs. In 2005, 18% of the surveyed industries are already marketing products incorporating nanotechnology, about 80% expect to commercialize nano-products by 2010, and almost all those surveyed expressed confidence that their organizations will be involved with nanotechnology in the long run after 2010. Such expansion of industrial relevance of nanotechnology has been a goal of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI)”, said Dr. M.C. Roco, key architect of the NNI, and Senior Advisor for Nanotechnology at NSF. “The executives showed close consensus on the barriers the industry faces”, said NCMS Principal Investigator, Dr. Manish Mehta.

This survey report has value to many different groups. Commercial organizations can use this report to benchmark their organization and learn from those in other industry segments. The investment community and service providers now have a better profile of the growth trends as well as the maturing and emergent nanotechnology markets. Trade organizations, State, Federal and regional entities can benchmark across regions and incorporate the information in planning policy and public investments to promote the industry and improve the nation’s competitiveness in this high-stakes field.

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