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European Commission to launch new technology platforms for nanotechnologies & sustainable production

October 08, 2002

Described as "a new industrial revolution", nanotechnologies are at the keen edge of sustainable production in Europe. Already fuelling a broad spectrum of applications in industries as diverse as information technologies, automotive, cosmetics, chemical and transport, they deliver cleaner, safer, more competitive production processes, as well as smarter, more durable and more user-friendly products. Nanotechnologies and nanomanufacturing thus provide innovative answers to the triple challenge of sustainable development: how to fuel economic growth, while preserving the environment, and at the same time enhance the safety, security and quality of life of European citizens.

To demonstrate the promises of nanotechnologies for sustainable development, and the opportunities to develop broad-based technology platforms in this strategic area, the European Commission organised, in collaboration with the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, a press briefing at one of Europe's leading centres of excellence for nanotechnologies, the Technical University of Denmark. This event brought together leading EU researchers, entrepreneurs and policy makers, in the presence of European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin and Helge Sander, Danish Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation

As Philippe Busquin, EU Research Commissioner stated "Nanotechnologies offer a crucial contribution to sustainable development. EU research on clean technologies and industrial processes already help minimise energy consumption, solve waste problems, and stimulate responsible behaviour from both producers and consumers. Nanotechnologies will allow Europe to go one stage further - "to do even more and better while using fewer resources". They will enable the EU to meet its international commitments, such as the Kyoto Protocol, make its enterprises more competitive, and contribute to fulfil legitimate expectations of European citizens in terms of safety, security and quality of life. To fulfil the promises of nanotechnologies, we must gather together all actors, public and private, to assess needs, identify research priorities, build critical mass of resources and talent, and turn research results into industrial leadership. My vision for Europe is to develop such technology platforms and centers of excellence to drive forwards a competitive European industry".

BACKGROUND: NANOTECHNOLOGIES: A REVOLUTION FOR SUSTAINABILITY?

Nanotechnologies are a strategically important area for Europe - and an area where European researchers and entrepreneurs have built strong leadership. Nanotechnologies already generate exciting new applications and new sectors of activity in fields as diverse as energy storage and distribution, detection, measurement and testing, processors and display technologies, bioanalysis and drug delivery, robotics and prosthetics. Building on results already achieved in the area of clean technologies, nanotechnologies will have a strong positive impact on production processes and product design in traditional industries.

Most importantly, nanotechnologies are making a key contribution to sustainability. Nanotechnologies, nanomanufacturing and nanomaterials offer exciting opportunities to make European companies more competitive, while conserving finite material resources and reducing environmental impact. By delivering cleaner and more efficient production processes, they directly fosters sustainability in such critical areas as water, transport and energy - three examples of sustainable production covered in this briefing. At the same time, nanotechnologies enhance safety, security and the quality of life of citizens. The result is not only cleaner, safer and more durable products, but also better designed, "smarter" products which can be traced, maintained and upgraded throughout their life cycle, thus reducing waste and energy consumption.
Nanotechnologies and sustainable production are undoubtedly two of the 'hottest' issues in research and innovation today. Central to many companies' strategies, nano-technologies and sustainable production also occupy a pivotal role in European research. They are at the crossroads of two key priorities of the recently adopted 6th Framework Programme for Research (FP6) - "New production processes and devices, new materials, nanotechnologies" (priority 3) and "Sustainable technologies, global change and ecosystems" (priority 6). In total EUR 3.42 billion will be devoted to these two priorities, over the next four years, with strong emphasis on sustainable and nanotechnologies. Of this total, over EUR 700 millions will be specifically targeted to nanotechnology research.

THE ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN RESEARCH AREA (ERA) AND FP 6

For years, EU-funded research has played a key role in building European scientific and industrial leadership in nanotechnologies. The FP5 GROWTH programme alone includes more than 40 on-going nanotechnology-based projects - many of which have a direct impact on sustainable development. Working at the nanolevel typically implies reduced consumption of energy and materials. Similarly, new process developments routinely rank waste reduction, effluent elimination and recyclability among key objectives.

The advent of ERA, and the recently adopted FP6, will provide additional impetus to meet the joint challenge of nanotechnologies and sustainable development. The Commission's objective is to create strong multiplier effects and maximise synergies between national and EU resources, as well as between public and industrial partners, through the launch of broad-based technology platforms and networks of excellence in the area of nanotechnologies. By bringing together nanotechnologies, materials science and manufacturing, as well as other technologies based on bio or environmental sciences, the ERA should help foster radical innovation in production and consumption patterns. This will lead to new applications, new companies and new fields of activity - but also help transform traditional sectors into cleaner, more competitive, and more interdependent high- tech and high added-value enterprises.

ANNEX
PROJECTS PRESENTED

The projects presented, and the visits to laboratories of the Technical University of Denmark, the Micro and Nanotechnology Centre of Denmark and the Danish Institute for Fundamental Metrology, illustrated, in particular, how nanotechnologies are contributing to

foster cleaner, more intelligent production processes across different industries

improve product design and strengthen product quality, safety and durability

ensure better, cleaner water supply, trough better control of water quality and more efficient treatment of waste,

produce more sensitive sensors for industrial medical uses, and for food safety

improve industrial and civil security, and improve the daily safety of citizens,

fight corrosion and wear in metal parts, and produce lighter, safer, more durable and energy-efficient vehicles and other products,

generate innovative forms of cross-disciplinary and cross-industry cooperation, through networks of excellence and virtual centres

1. Safe water: micro-nanosensors for monitoring waste and drinking water

PROJECT MICROCHEM demonstrates innovative breakthroughs towards "laboratory-on-a-chip" analysers. The objective of the project is to ensure cost-effective monitoring of water purity on the basis of chemical analyses involving only nanolitre quantities of liquid. This allows much more thorough monitoring of the quality, and security, of effluents and critical potable water resources (see separate press release)

2. Safer, cleaner, more durable products and vehicles: the role of nanocomposites

PROJECT NANOMAG looks into durable and clean nanocomposite coatings for the car of tomorrow. Magnesium alloys will be a "must" in the near future to reduce fuel consumption and air pollution, as they will play a key role to reach the lower weight targets set by the automotive and aeronautical industries. Today, a broader use of magnesium is constrained by its susceptibility to corrosion. As a consequence, there is a growing need for European transportation companies to combine efforts, within and across industrial sectors, to develop appropriate surface finishing. The environmental problems arising from the use of today's environmentally critical treatment like chromate-based conversion coatings make it urgent to develop clean solutions for the European citizen (see separate press release).

3. Nanotechnologies for sustainable production and quality of life

Launched in July 2002, the NANOFORUM NETWORK is a powerful platform for raising awareness, supporting and encouraging the adoption of new nanotechnologies, and facilitating the development of new industrially-oriented nanotechnology research across Europe. Gathering public and private research centres, large and small companies and incubators, it illustrates the need for networking and the sharing of information between large numbers of partners in different countries to answer the complex challenges of nanotechnologies in sustainable development. (see separate press release)

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

To improve the efficiency of community research, the new Framework Programme for Research (FP 6) will address a limited number of selected priority research areas - with the emphasis on those with strategic significance for the EU, and which lend themselves to implementation at the European level.

With a budget of EUR 1300 million and its multi-disciplinary approach, the so-called "Priority 3" on industrial technologies will be the main vehicle for research in this area. Under this umbrella, a number of specific strategic areas have already been identified. These include:

Moving from traditional to high-added-value industry. The aim is to promote a shift from traditionally less RTD-intensive industries towards high-added-value businesses, especially SMEs, to ensuring future competitive advantage and retain or improve employment capacities. Nanotechnology, as well as biotechnologies, new materials and hybrid technologies will contribute to the development of new knowledge-based added-value products and services.

New concepts for flexible and intelligent production system. A move towards the knowledge-based economy calls for new industrial paradigms and approaches. This can be achieved through the concurrency and reconfigurability of manufacturing operations, based on breakthrough organisational, regulatory and technological joint developments. The major outcome of this strategic area would be a framework for manufacturing in 2010, based on improved co-ordination and integration of research teams supported under previous European projects.

Sustainable and safe industrial systems. Sustainable development demands not only new methods of production, but also an increased awareness of the benefits of life-cycle approaches, and of the need to minimise risks for citizens and environment.

Industrial technologies for security. Breakthrough advances in intelligent sensor technology will provide opportunities for significant improvement in environmental protection, and in the security and quality of life of citizens. Nanotechnology-based sensors will make it possible to detect hazards of chemical, physical or biological origin; to monitor reliability of safety systems; and to provide timely feedback for the initiation of protective action.

Industrial technologies for health. Improving the health of the population is a prime reason for the development of competitive and sustainable industrial systems. Considerable efforts will be directed to the prevention of accidents and illness through creation of pollution-free and human-friendly working conditions. The area of biosensors and of targeted drug delivery has a huge potential for public health and will boost industrial competitiveness.

From atoms to cities. New materials, new concepts and new techniques open great potential for improvement of living and working conditions, particularly in cities. The main objective is to allow people to live in a more adaptive, personalised and friendly environment through the development of customised intelligent solutions. Emphasis will be given to the development of smart systems able to interact with their surroundings. New concepts will be designed and developed, based in particular on new materials able to adapt to their environment, extend their useful lifetimes or save energy.

These strategic goals are complemented by two technology platforms creating the basis for radical innovation and allowing the validation of the necessary materials and engineering approaches:

Expanding knowledge in nanoscience and engineering. Nanoscience and nanotechnology offer new opportunities to science, technology and engineering, as a means of supporting breakthrough innovation. Reactivity at the nanoscale, for instance, requires deeper investigation. Research also needs new tools for characterisation, investigation and future manufacturing, which allow precision and accuracy at the atomic and molecular scale. All these represent major long-term research challenges.

Materials technology. Development of multifunctional materials of superior performance, exhibiting a new set of properties and suitable for a range of novel applications, will not only expand human activities beyond their present limits but also significantly contribute to the sustainable competitiveness of European industry. The main objective is to facilitate development of novel materials with multisectoral applications as well as to provide new processing solutions to existing applications by encouraging new approaches, such as 'made to measure' materials or learning from nature, and fostering multidisciplinarity. This will promote creation of new RTD-intensive industries in existing, emerging and promising areas, generate new knowledge-based jobs and encourage a multi- and trans-disciplinary culture in materials science.

European Commission, Research Directorate