By Rebecca Munguia
NFT News Editor

NATIONAL - President Bush continues to stake his claim in the new economy of nanotechnology by releasing another $350 million to the Department of Energy toward new Hydrogen Fuel Technology grants. These funds (coupled with his prior commitment) total $1.2 billion purposed to break through existing research challenges to commercializing hydrogen fuel cell technology as a viable, market alternative to gasoline. The Hydrogen Fuel Initiative will aim to reverse America's growing dependence on foreign oil by helping developing the technology for hydrogen-powered fuel cells for cars, trucks, homes, and businesses. Nanotechnology research suggest successful energy solutions may be on the horizon.

In April, multiple industry experts and researchers from the country's most prestigious universities and organizations descended upon the nation's capital to speak in a series of hearings regarding the economy and to forecast the various barriers or suggest solutions. Not surprising, after these multiple sessions and testimonies, President Bush announced on April 27 a series of additional grants and funds that are primarily targeted toward maintaining American dominance in the global innovation economy.

A key challenge for the private sector in bringing hydrogen fuel to market is cost containment. Hydrogen fuel cell-based propulsion is as much as 10 times the cost of internal combustion engines. Astronauts have been using fuel cell technology successfully since 1960, yet translating the benefits of clean air and reduced dependence on foreign reserves into a cost effective alternative is still in the future. It can be done, but not easily. Hydrogen is currently 4 times the cost of gasoline when produced from the most affordable and abundant source, natural gas. Another challenge in this initiative is identifying technologies that can effectively store hydrogen. Nanotechnology may provide these and other solutions.

A developmental fuel cell electrode
made of single-walled carbon nanotubes.

Courtesy of Carbon Nanotechnologies, Inc.

The hottest portion of the President's proposal is his accelerated funding ear-marked for nanotechnology research. President Bush has more than doubled Federal R&D dollars for Nano alone to $1 billion since 2001. NSF is to receive the highest portion of funds from the FY2005 projected budget for R&D.

The Bush Administration proposal is also intended to ensure that America's grads have the training they need to compete for the best jobs by expanding math & science educational opportunities in colleges and universities. The April 27th announcement of economic policy will enable over 50,000 low-income graduating high school seniors to have opportunity to qualify for additional assistance based on completing more rigorous high school curriculums and pursuing degrees with math or science emphasis.

Source: Site Selection Webzine by Ron Starner
Full Article - Site Selection

DALLAS – TI bankrolled it high-stakes gambit on a belief that the innovation coming out of Texas labs and universities will drive increased demand in the global chip market. The $3 billion project to build TI's second 300 millimeter wafer fab in 3 years – the largest capital investment in the history of Texas – is expected to break ground in 2005 and employ 1,000 workers upon full production. How Texas beat out China and other low-cost locations for this prized factory is a story in unusual corporate strategy and public-private partnerships. The lessons could be far-reaching in an era of increased global outsourcing of U.S. manufacturing jobs. The project translates to a Texas windfall; the Richardson plant will possess an annual payroll of high-wage salaries topping $45 million. The Perryman Group in Waco, Texas conducted an economic impact study indicating a cumulative $14.5 billion stimulus for Texas and the creation of 88,125 permanent jobs.

More importantly, the study notes, the project positions Texas to become a world leader in such fields as nanotechnology and advanced materials. “In short, the TI 300 millimeter wafer plant represents an outstanding mechanism to locate an important manufacturing enterprise in a dynamic region of Texas while supporting academic excellence in a synergistic manner.” The study concludes, “It is a catalyst to future business expansion and job creation that is critical to the long-term outlook for the state.”

Source: Technology Review – 5/04 – by Erika Joneitz

HOUSTON - “Carbon nanotubes are the poster molecules of the nanotech revolution.” They could enable everything from super-tough, lightweight materials to ultra-sensitive medical diagnostic tests. Nanotubes clump together in bunches and, thus, limiting the full spectrum of their potential. Yet, in the first of a series of inventions, researchers at Rice University have devised an easier path to untangle and separate them.

“Led by Robert Hauge (2002 Nano Summit Speaker) and the late John Margrave (2003 Nano Summit Speaker), the Rice chemists first exposed carbon nanotubes to fluorine gas. The fluorine binds to the sides of the tubes, making them less sticky and allowing them to be separated from each other.” With ease, researchers can now include the nanotubes into materials resulting in increased strength or electrical conductivity. This invention is key in using single nanotubes as parts of nano-electronic devices. “If you want to use nanotubes one by one, you're going to have to do something to the sides and this allows you to do that,” says Richard E. Smalley, the Nobel laureate Rice chemist who collaborated on the work. CNI, co-founded by Smalley, currently utilizes this patented technique in the production of the nanotubes it supplies to both corporate and academic labs.

Source: Small Times

NATIONAL - The Merrill Lynch Nanotech Index, which will be quoted on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol NNZ, is an equally weighted index of 25 nanotech firms worldwide. Those firms included must have a significant percentage of future profits tied to the emerging field, and each stock must trade largely based on its nano business.

Types of companies involved in the index include semiconductor, biotechnology, instrumentation, sensor, and materials.

Punk Ziegel & Co., a New York-based investment bank, also rolled out a 15-company nano stock index in February.

Within days of this launch, sharp reaction challenged the inclusion of certain companies as ‘pure-play' nanotechnology groups. Merrill Lynch promptly replaced 2 of the 25 companies.

Source: NanoVance Inc. Press Release

AUSTIN – Veterans the micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) and semiconductor industries, announced the launch of NanoVance Inc, a company that integrates those technologies to provide nano-scale devices. NanoVance's management team is comprised of talent that spans nearly 100 years of combined experience in the semiconductor industry. Ellery Buchanan serves as CEO and President and is the conference chair of this year's SEMI Nano Forum to be held later this year in Austin (see article below).

Daniel Nelson, President, COO and co-founder of NanoVance, noted the company leverages the fab capacity and technical expertise of its partners to develop and manufacture customer devices. Nelson served for 9 years with Rosemont Inc, leading its MEMS technical development and fabrication programs of military and aerospace applications. Larry Thompson will serve at CTO. He worked in Bell Labs for 25 years and holds 28 patents in the areas of semiconductor processing and materials engineering.

Nanovance will focus on several high growth areas: medical/biotech, IT and data storage, and wireless communications. Devices developed for these industries also will have potential applications in defense, aerospace, automotive and consumer technologies.

Source: Zyvex Press Release, May 4)

RICHARDSON - The first two products of Zyvex's NanoSolve (TM) line of composite additives was announced. One product is based on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), the other is based on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs). Both are designed for dispersion in polyurethanes. The additives also attach well to the polyurethane matrix, boosting the host materials' thermal transport and mechanical properties.

Both products provide demonstrable increases in thermal conductivity and mechanical strength, at various loadings. Robert Folaron, Director of Product Development at Zyvex, said the composite manufacturer now has a range of formulation options that meet specific material design and price parameters. Zyvex work in building a reliable, quality supply chain now enables them to offer these additives as true industrial materials.

Source: Zyvex Press Release, April 27)

RICHARDSON - "Establishing a raw material standard and maintaining quality assurance to meet that standard is the key to the commercialization of carbon nanotubes and carbon nanotube-based materials," said Tom Cellucci, President and COO of Zyvex. In a conversation with NFT, Cellucci discussed the "over hyping" of nanotechnology has resulted in a burst of carbon nanotubes manufacturers providing carbon nanotube material of widely varying quality and material characteristics around the globe. Sr. Engineer at Zyvex, Dr. Mark Banash, PhD, MBA said, "The use of carbon nanotubes as industrial materials has been hampered by several factors. First was the inability to disperse the nanotubes uniformly in a variety of composite matrices, which Zyvex recently solved with our functionalization technology. Second was a supply chain that provided CNT material with uncontrolled specifications and impractical delivery schedules. Our analytical process objectively assesses a given CNT manufacturer's underlying technology and production scalability. It also considers the business structure of the firm, its ability to raise capital, and its long-term commitment to the marketplace." Zyvex expects to certify major suppliers of multi-wall and single-wall carbon nanotubes by June 2004.

Source: Small Times

NATIONAL - Nanosys is currently heralded as the most watched nanotechnology company. With the expected public offering this month, analysts are already predicting a potential landslide of 4 to 5 more IPO's before the end of summer! Industry experts debate whether Nanosys is capable of meeting the formidable investor expectations. However, Larry Bock, CEO and President, is a force to contend with considering his well established entrepreneurial history. His track record holds an impressive collection of 12 start-ups, 8 of which are currently traded on the Nasdaq. Bock has positioned Nanosys to reign over the field of inorganic semiconductor nanomaterials such as nanowires, nanorods and quantum dots, which it intends to use in new generations of solar panels, biosensors and flexible electronic products. Texas will get an up close view with Larry Bock at the forthcoming SEMI Nano Forum held in Austin this November (see next newsletter article).

Source: Nano Express Newsletter April 2004

NATIONAL - National Tradeshow Magazine has selected SEMI NanoForum as one of the best nanotech events of 2004. This Texas held conference scheduled for mid November in Austin earns the high placement because the conference is one of the only nanotechnology events backed by a global industry organization with large-show experience. This ranking comes just as SEMI opens registration for Nano Forum 2004, the first international conference to bring together key decision makers and technical experts from the semiconductor equipment and materials industry and the nanotechnology world. SEMI represent more than 2,200 semiconductor equipment and materials companies whose combined products and services contribute more than $65 billion to the world economy. More than 500 participants are expected from markets including defense, transportation, automotive, information technology, medical, biotech and consumer.

To register, see the nanotechnology events calendar on the Foundation's web site.