by Barbara Goode, Small Times’ staff

May 29, 2007 — The NSTI Nanotech 2007 show, held May 21 – 24 in Santa Clara, Calif., co-located with Cleantech 2007, a multi-disciplinary and multi-sector event focused on global sustainability through technology and clean business practices. Cleantech’s opening keynote included a presentation by Henry A. Courtright of Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), who told the audience that the power industry is “moving from physical solutions into nanotechnology area.”

The clean/green theme was evident in both the exposition and the conference.

In the exhibit hall, NanoDynamics (which recently announced its intent to go public) had displays in both the Nanotech and Cleantech areas. NanoDynamics works to find practical applications for nanotechnologies, as was illustrated by its distribution of a paper titled, Promise of Nanomaterials for Water Cleanup.

The government of Australia was on hand to promote its nanotechnology companies, including Dyesol Ltd., which is reportedly the world’s hub for industrial research into dye solar cell (DSC) technology. DSC uses nanotech to mimic photosynthesis in plants.

Other Nanotech exhibitors promoted products and services that just so happen to have “green” implications. For instance, Specialty Coating Systems’ ultra thin, pinhole-free conformal Paralyne coatings are completely biocompatible (and RoHs compliant).

The conference featured a number of presentations along similar lines, including Nanoexa’s talk on Batteries and Clean Cars.