Nanotechnology turns from hype to ripe in US

06 October 2006 21:30  [Source: ICIS news]

NEW YORK (ICIS news)--The hype surrounding nanotechnology is quieting down but the real interest and investment within the sector is growing quickly, analysts and industry experts said on Friday.

Companies associated with nanotechnology got a big boost from investors when President Bush signed the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act into law in December 2003, said Charles Harris, chairman and chief executive of a venture capital firm that invests in nanotechnology businesses.

An executive with Carbon Nanotechnologies said the industry’s potential remains strong, despite the moderating attention.

“I think the hype may have died down a bit because people have realised that it takes time for a technology to result in profitable products in the marketplace,” said Kenneth McElrath, vice president of product development for the nanotechnology firm.

Although the coatings market is overlooked at times, it has been the first to successfully generate commercialised end-use products with nanotechnology, said industry analysts and market sources, who added that the two markets were a natural fit because it is easier to apply technology to an existing product.

“Coatings is really one of the earlier practical applications where nanotechnology has already found its way into the field,” Harris said. “I think you’re going to see nano-scale coatings on display screens in order to give the screen conductivity. In the near term, we’re going to see a lot of product applications in the marketplace that are enabled by nanocoatings.”

Environmental remediation was the largest end-user market for nanotechnology with 33% of the total market, according to a report by BCC Research. It was followed by electronics with 24%, energy with 15%, and biomedical applications with 5%. 

Look for the full analysis of this topic in the 16 October issue of ICBA.

By: Lindsey Blanchfield
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