Aug 21 2009
Nanotechnologies and the corresponding applications are developed rapidly, and new products are constantly moved to the market. Due to the fact that nanotechnologies (as typical enabling technologies) have the potential to be applied in almost every industry sector, and in the light that there is still no consensus on how to define and delimit "nanotechnologies", it has proven difficult to define, capture and monitor investments and company involvements in nanotechnologies. This again makes it hard for oversight institutions to keep pace with nanotechnology developments, prioritise actions and develop policies that represent actual market conditions.
However, since no commonly agreed definitions and statistical frameworks to "capture" nanotechnologies’ commercial values exist, publications and patenting data can only provide a limited picture of the variegated nature of technological change and innovation in the field of nanotechnology. According to the report, publication data highlight the broad-based and interdisciplinary nature of scientific advances that fuel nanotechnology developments. In order to complete the picture, the authors also looked at company surveys that have been undertaken in a few countries to provide further relevant data.
Some of the most important outcomes of the report include the following findings (citing from the report):
- Research and development activities are concentrated in only few countries and regions in the world. The US take the lead, followed by Japan and some larger European countries like Germany, France and the UK. The rise of "newcomer" countries like Korea, India and China is highlighted.
- The number of publications exceeds, by far, patents, as is often the case for emerging technologies.
- Most patents occur in nanoelectronics and nanomaterials, both of which are generic technology areas in their own right.
- Electronics appears to be an application field in which nanotechnology is building on existing strengths in most countries. Instruments, pharmaceuticals and biotechnologies represent areas in which nanotechnology is contributing to diversification in new fields.
- It is difficult to define a "nanotechnology company", and the number of such companies is still quite small. Those identified through the company surveys tend to be small and distributed across a broad range of industries, mainly in the manufacturing sector. A majority of these companies develop nanomaterials, nanobiotechnologies and nanoelectronics.
The analysed company surveys also addressed the challenges in commercialising nanotechnologies. According to the responses, high processing costs, problems in scalability of R&D for prototype and industrial production and concerns about EHS issues emerge as key challenges.
It needs to be determined whether these challenges are "unique to nanotechnologies and hence may require new policy approaches". Clearly, better metrics, combined with qualitative case studies, constitute a necessary basis for the further monitoring and benchmarking of nanotechnologies in response to future policy needs.
Contact & more information: Stephan Knébel
Source: The Innovation Society