The Nanotech Gold Rush
by Patrick Tucker
A technology researcher outlines the future of molecular engineering.
Though still a largely unexplored area of science, nanotechnology, or the manipulation
of objects less than one-billionth of one meter in size, has already infected the popular
consciousness. The result: curiosity, suspicion, and irrational exuberance.
According to David M. Berube, author of Nano-Hype, some of the most fantastic
depictions of nanotechnology in popular culture—such as swarms of killer nanobots and
mind manipulation through microscopic machinery—belie the technology's real near-term
applications. These include the construction of stronger, more-versatile materials.
"It is abundantly clear that the applications of nanotechnology will likely be
both numerous and far-reaching," Berube writes, "but don't expect a
nano-industry per se to develop. Nanotechnology enables products of another industry to be
improved or enhanced."
By 2015, the market for nanostructured materials will reach $340 billion. For
electronics and information related equipment it will reach $600 billion, and for
nanopharmaceuticals, $180 billion, Berube's research suggests. He sees nanotechnologies
working their way into a broad constellation of products with commercial applications
falling into the following six categories:
• Manufacturing and materials. These will make up "the
single largest application of nanotechnology." Berube describes a number of companies
at the forefront of this research and development, such as QuantumSphere Inc., a leading
manufacturer of metallic nanopowders used in fuel cells, hydrogen generation cells, and
air-breathing systems.
A Drexel and TRI/Princeton team is also working in materials R&D. They've developed
a method for filling single-walled carbon nanotubes with polar and nonpolar liquids.
According to the team, this produced "magnetic nanostructures with applications in
memory devices and wearable electronics."
A recent NanoSonic project has resulted in a new material that the company describes as
"metallic rubber, which flexes and stretches like rubber but conducts electricity
like a solid metal."
• Food and agriculture. A number of large food conglomerates,
such as Denmark's Friesland Foods, are investing heavily in nanoscience. Friesland is
researching ways to control flavor release and component breakdown in cheese. Meanwhile,
researchers at the Norwegian Institute of Technology are experimenting with ways to
improve the shelf life of food by incorporating nanoparticles into food packaging.
• Electronics and computing. Carbon nanotubes could provide
nonvolatile, high-speed, high- density memory that both is resistant to radiation and uses
relatively little power. Success in this area could provide for better multiplatform
computing and drastically increased capability, particularly for future generations of
handheld devices. According to the NanoMarkets newsletter, "The market for
nano-enabled electronics will reach $10.8 billion in 2007 and $82.5 billion in 2011."
• Health care. "Demand for nanotechnology health-care
products in the United States will increase nearly 50% per year, reaching $6.5 billion in
2009," according to the Freedonia Group.
The Quantum Dot company is developing clinical—grade semi-conducting nanocrystals
that may help ocular and cancer imaging. And at least two firms, Nucryst
Pharmaceuticals and Eco-Tru, are working separately on applying nanoscience to the problem
of preventing infection.
• Energy. Nanoscience may increase the viability of hydrogen as
an alternative fuel. Currently, liquid hydrogen can only be stored for a few days at a
time. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
are working on ways to extract hydrogen from ammonia, which is more easily stored and
transported than liquid hydrogen. Carbon filters with nano-sized pores would play a role
in this extraction process, a form of catalysis. Also, according to Berube, nanoscience
could lead to photovoltaic or solar panels that are 100 times more efficient than the
solar panels on today's market.
• Luxury goods. The Japanese company Toshiba is developing an
odor-eating refrigerator it calls Senszoko. And a group called Nano-Tex is working on
stain- and spill-resistant khakis.
While these developments are worthy of note, Berube cautions that the field of
nanoscience is still a relatively new one. He urges both public and investor caution.
"Leaders in the nanotechnology movement are concerned that hyperbole might squeeze
out reasoned discourse," he writes. "Fears might affect development and
investment. The net effect might be significant. If we shave back some of the
exaggerations, there does remain some fascinating benefits to whoever captures the ember
that powers the engines of nanotechnology."
Source: Nano-Hype: The Truth Behind the Nanotechnology Buzz by David M.
Berube. Prometheus Books. 2006. 520 pages. $28. Available from Futurist Bookshelf,
www.wfs.org/bkshelf.htm.
To order the print edition of the May-June
2006 issue of THE FUTURIST ($4.95 plus $3 postage and handling) or to become a member of the World
Future Society ($49 per year).
