By Genevieve Oger
Small Times Correspondent
SEVILLE, Spain, Dec. 5, 2001 — Around 50 nanophiles from both sides of the Atlantic willingly holed themselves up inside a former convent here Monday and Tuesday to talk shop.
As if Moorish-inspired architecture were to help them decipher genuine buzz from genuine B.S., the group sought to identify winning investment strategies in the nanoworld.
The I2Nano conference, organized by
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| The Moorish-inspired architecture at the former convent of Fundacion San Telmo in Seville, Spain, was the setting for about 50 venture capitalists, institutional investors, researchers, intellectual property lawyers and entrepreneurs — all interested in separating fact from fiction in nanotechnology. |
The key question on everyone’s lips was, “How do I recognize a good nanotechnology project?” The unspoken question on everyone’s mind was more like, “How do I make sure I don’t miss the nanotech boat?” With memories of the dot-bust still vivid, investors hope to stay on right side of the fine line between senseless risk and vision.
Some of the stars of the nanoscene made appearances in Seville. Here are a few of them, along with what they had to offer.
Most potential to change geopolitics: Nanoledge, a French nanotube startup, already has one product on the consumer market: a racket whose yoke has been reinforced with nanotubes. The carbon tubes — which are 50,000 times thinner than a human hair, yet 100 times stronger than steel — hold the promise of great things.
Rather than talk tennis, Sylvain Hoebanx, Nanoledge’s chief executive, focused on the company’s university and R&D clients, since the tubes’ potential extends far beyond the field of material reinforcement.
One particular application could eventually change our reliance on fossil fuels. Nanotubes may have the capacity to safely store hydrogen — an element that, in its natural form, remains highly unstable. If researchers find a way to store hydrogen with carbon nanotubes, hydrogen could one day replace gasoline and other automobile fuels.
Hydrogen-based batteries have been shown to function very effectively as an alternative energy source. The secure stocking of hydrogen remains the missing link in the equation. DaimlerChrysler and Toyota are studying the possibilities, Hoebanx said.
Best Potential Time Saver: France’s Nanotimes focuses on the “tools” aspect of the nanobiz. It sells a series of software applications that help researchers working with very small microscopy to interpret their findings. Right now, researchers spend a lot of time deciphering the images they get from their near-field microscopes.
Nanotimes says its software, which provides 3-D color imaging of research findings, will be an invaluable time-saver for people researching objects on the nanoscale. The software works with all types of nanoscopes, including atomic force microscopes, scanning tunneling devices and near field optical microscopes.
However, Nanotimes does not yet exist as a company. It has products and nearly a dozen customers, but is not yet incorporated. According to Gaston Nicolessi, one of Nanotimes’ two founders, that should happen once the first round of funding is completed in spring 2002. For now, Nanotimes calls the startup incubator of Midi-Pyrenees in southern France, home.
Most cinematic: Angstrovision aims to make 3-D images of materials on the nanoscale better, faster and cheaper. The self-described “garage startup” has completed seven years of research, but must still file patents for the technology used in its cupboard-size topographic imaging device. The device can take 30 stills a second — exactly the number of frames used to make video.
The company, which started in October, has identified around 300 publicly owned basic materials companies and 1,000 private ones that could form its initial customer base. Around 60 of those focus on nanotechnology. Angstrovision also hopes to market its enabling technology to 50 university and government labs.
The company has put together a prototype and is in the process of raising seed funding. Scott Mize, the company’s president and chief executive, said around half of this money has already been committed.
Most products close to market, without actually being on the market: U.K.-based Oxonica develops and commercializes nanotechnology projects based on findings by scientists at the University of Oxford.
Four products are currently in the final stages of development. The most advanced project concerns sunscreen and cosmetic additives that prevent the creation of free radicals — wandering oxygen molecules, caused by exposure to sunlight, that hasten the skin’s aging process. Pilot production has been done, but further approval tests are still in process. The product is scheduled to be launched in the summer of 2003.
Bio labels for pharmaceuticals and an anti-counterfeiting phosphor technique could also be among Oxonica’s first revenue-generating products. In addition, the company is working on a pollution-reducing fuel additive that could substantially improve air quality in urban centers. A field trial is scheduled in Hong Kong in April and in a half dozen other Asian cities over the course of 2002.
Most End-Consumer Focused: Germany’s Nanogate uses nanoparticles of different shapes and forms to make products used by consumers. According to Ralf Zastrau, Nanogate’s chief executive, the company aims to develop materials within months rather than years by starting with making improvements on existing products rather than inventing new ones from scratch.
It already has four applications on the market. The first concerns a nanothin invisible film that makes kitchen and bathroom surfaces easier to clean. Shower stall makers like Dusholux and Duravit are already using it. The second is a ski wax much easier to apply than what is currently on the market. The product has been tested with national ski teams from Canada, Germany and the United States. A one-time application retails for approximately $2.75 and a 50-milliliter bottle for around $18.20.
Nanogate also produces protective nanocoating used in automobile motors and industrial printing equipment and a nano-enhanced ceramic bit to ignite heating systems.