Transcript Mining Nanotechnology Opportunities

The Challenges in
Commercializing Nanomaterials
Keith Blakely
[email protected]
1
Contents



Technology exploitation – and lessons learned
Nanotechnology as a toolkit
Nearer-term opportunities in nanotechnology
2
Technology Exploitation
…and lessons learned
3
“The Valley of Death”
The inventor
•I have made a prototype
•It has really interesting properties
•There is a potential market for it
The customer
•I want a characterized and
economic product that fits my
process, and is produced using
a characterized and scalable process
4
Past Technology Booms


Inventions usually in corporate labs or universities
Bandwagon of companies jumping on the trend







“Plastics, my boy” (The Graduate) 1960’s
Structural ceramics (1970’s-1980’s)
Optoelectronics (late 1990’s)
Nanotechnology (2000’s)
Boom and bust
Consolidation
Survivors develop mature profitable businesses
5
Structural Ceramics




Kent Bowen (MIT) and others – microstructure control is critical
and can allow you to develop great properties
Major hype on ceramics use in everything from turbochargers to
kitchen knives
Boom, bust, consolidation
Why were expectations not met?
 Product designs didn’t stand still and wait for the materials to
mature


The ceramic turbocharger was sidestepped by multiple valves per
cylinder, variable valve timing etc.
High strength metals, plastics, and composites competed
Many applications weren’t cost-effective – kitchen knives?
 Engineers and designers weren’t comfortable with brittle
materials in many applications
Still a good business in wear parts, refractories, bearings, armor,
semiconductor equipment, microelectronics…


6
Lessons






Your team is critical – creativity balanced by
experience (it’s not just the science that matters)
Avoid a one-trick pony – look for a technology or
market platform with flexibility and real sustainable
market pull
The existing technology won’t stand still
Manage your development and execute carefully
Manage your product portfolio and bear in mind the
time to commercialize
Manage your supply chain to be the low cost
supplier
7
Nanotechnology as a Toolkit
8
Will Nanotechnology be the Same
Boom and Bust Story?


Time will tell!
There are similarities and differences


Market pull from electronics / medicine / defense / energy
Huge diversity of processes




Huge diversity of products





Chemical
Physical
Biological
Particulate
Nanostructured materials
Composites
Coatings
Too much money chasing opportunities
9
How can nanotechnology help?
It allows us to develop:






Uniform particles
Reactive particles
Unusual properties
Nano-structured materials (tubes,
balls, hooks, layers, surfaces)
Directed assembly and other
novel processes
It is a “toolkit” to allow us to
make improved products
The technology behind the improvements will usually be invisible to the consumer
(tires, tennis balls, sunscreen, car wax, ski wax, golf balls…..)
10
Crossover in technologies and markets is real –
NanoDynamics products and markets
11
Nearer-term Commercial
Opportunities
12
Application industries






Automotive
Chemical
Engineering
Electronics
Construction
Medicine






Textiles
Energy
Cosmetics
Food and drinks
Household
Sporting goods
(VDI Technologiezentrum EC Report)
13
Electronics

MLCC electrode
materials and
dielectrics



50 – 300 nm Ni and
BaTiO3
New Pd-Ag systems will
revive precious metal
electrode systems
Embedded Capacitors

Use of nanomaterials to
increase effective K
Clarkson University / NanoDynamics
14
Coatings and adhesives

ITO



Electrically conductive
properties from sputtered
systems for highest
electrical conductivity
IR absorbing coating
systems using
suspended nanoparticles
Transparent conducting
adhesives with <10% ITO
MMP/NanoDynamics
15
Nanotech in Energy
Solar Cells
16
Solid oxide fuel cell
•Fuel flexibility
•Rapid start
•High efficiency
•Cost-effective
17
Nanotech in Consumer Products
18
Nanotech in Consumer Products
19
Nanotech in Defense & Homeland
Security





Advanced armor
and munitions
Biological and
chemical
sensors
Adaptive
camouflage
“Smart skin”
Portable power
20
So Why Isn’t Everyone Getting Rich?




Application potential is huge; current
consumption is not
Design engineers aren’t aware of products,
properties, suppliers, standards, or risks
Manufacturers haven’t reached critical mass
or come down the cost curve adequately yet
Lots of discussion and dialogue between
material producers and end users is still
needed
21
Our Strategic Approach




Select a limited number of value-added or
end-use products to manufacture that
incorporate nanomaterials
Demonstrate the value proposition to the
market place and promote it
Expand the interest and application into other
industries, products, and markets
Acquire conventional product lines and
integrate nanomaterials to create new
products and opportunities
22
Summary

New materials have historically been
challenging to commercialize



15 – 20 years on average from discovery to first
commercial use
Nanotechnology has all the necessary
components of a “bubble”
Finding products that can use the advantages
of nanomaterials today is critical
23