Briefing: Nanotechnology Nanotechnology has great relevance to India today as it has the potential to address the needs of those

at the bottom of the economic pyramid through innovative technology solutions. FEBRUARY 2010 BY TR EDITORS E-mail Print INDIA AND NANOTECHNOLOGY

Nanotechnology has great relevance to India today as it has the potential to address the needs of those at the bottom of the economic pyramid through innovative technology solutions. India is in a unique position to excel in the commercialization of nanotechnology. There is a strong market demand for innovative technology solutions that conventional technologies are unable to satisfy. India is richly endowed with natural resources (sunshine, rain, minerals) and nanotechnology offers an opportunity to transform these resources into sustainable and cost-effective solutions that can transform the lives of the masses and the economy of the nation. Nanoscience is the study of phenomena and manipulation of materials at atomic, molecular, and macromolecular scales, where properties differ significantly (sometimes dramatically) from those at larger scales. Nanotechnology is the application of nanoscience and involves the design, characterization, production, and application of structures, devices, and systems by controlling shape and size on the nanoscale.

Nanotechnology, by virtue of its inherent inter-disciplinary nature, has brought about a paradigm shift in the way research, both in academics and industry, is planned and carried out. Recent innovations in nanotechnology and the successful commercialization of nano-enabled products have cut across the traditional borders of the various disciplines of science and engineering. Prioritization of nanotechnology efforts will help the society solve the most complex problems of energy, water, food, transportation, and shelter in an affordable and a sustainable way. TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW: THE NANO AGE It is customary to trace the evolution of modern man by the materials technology that he mastered (stone age, iron age, bronze age). Now we are witnessing the emergence of the nano age or more precisely as the age of engineered nanomaterials. Nanomaterials are called so by virtue of having at least one dimension in the order of 1 to 100 nanometers (nm) and unique or novel properties that arise from their small size. It helps the subsequent discussion to take a detour and to get a feel of this small size (2 gm) of spherical nanoparticles of Al (100 nm) which contain sufficient particles to give every human on the planet 300,000 particles each. The dramatic changes that take place in physical, chemical, and biological properties of materials when they are endowed with nanoscale structure is something fascinating to watch. It is not difficult to understand the causes that drive these dramatic changes. Physical properties of a solid material (like optical transparency, electric conductivity, magnetic permeability, and mechanical strength) are manifestations of the way components of matter interact. If we probe at a more fundamental level, the energy levels in nanostructures, such as nanoclusters, are quantized and deviate well from the predictions of classical condensed-matter physics. For instance, silicon, an indirect semiconductor that shows only very weak luminescence, can be excited purely through nanostructuring to shine in rainbow colors. Nanostructuring can radically change the chemical properties of materials. In nanostructured materials, the ratio of reactive surface atoms to those in the bulk (hence relatively inert) increases by order of magnitude. Nanoporous materials, whose useful functions are enhanced by the high surface area, find valuable application in catalysis, electrochemistry, materials separation, and more. In the realm of biology and medicine, nanotechnology enables novel approaches in

medicine therapy (for example, targeted drug delivery), regenerative medicine (improved implants, self-healing features), and diagnostics (enhanced medical imaging through improved contrast agents). Materials technologists were earlier constrained by the properties of available materials, but nanotechnology is rapidly changing that scenario. Nanotechnology kindles a materials scientists creativity by helping him/her to intelligently design the materials for specific applications. The spectrum of nanotechnology applications ranges from high tech fields like electronics, optoelectronics, and advanced materials to more traditional branches of mechanical engineering, construction, and textile industry. We also find nanotechnology in products of daily use like cosmetics (nanomaterial UV-blockers in sunscreen creams), sport equipment (nanostructured surface contours on golf balls), and household products (washing machine using nanosilver for antibacterial action, water purifier using nanosilver). Current market forecasts for nano-optimized products expect an economic leverage effect of nanotechnology to a world market volume of up to three trillion dollars by 2015. Let us look at the well established nano-enabled products that are around us today. Environmental and energy technologies have benefited from the use of nanomaterials high efficiency nanostructured catalysts, nanomembranes for effective wastewater treatment, anti-reflection layers to enhance the energy conversion of solar cells, and nanostructured coatings for corrosion and wear resistance (see Nanolubricants in the Making). Photocatalytic air and wastewater treatment using nano titanium dioxide, groundwater remediation with iron nanoparticles are ready to enter the market. Health care and medicine routinely use nanomaterials in the form of nano-sized contrast agents for medical imaging, nanoscale drug carriers for targeted drug delivery, nanomembranes for dialysis, and biochips for in- vitro diagnostics. Nano cancer therapy (hyperthermia, that is, localized heating by infrared absorbers like nano gold particles), nanostructured hydroxyapatite as bone substitute, and quantum dot markers for diagnostics will soon be available. Electronics industry is flooded with examples of advantageous use of nanomaterials. For example, hard disk storage units with giant magnetoresistance (GMR) read heads, compact flash-storage devices, and polymer electronics such as RFID tags. The next-generation electronics will utilize silicon electronics 32 nm structures, carbon nanotube (CNT) field emission displays, nanoparticle heat removers for

thermal management, magnetoresistive random access memory, and phase change memory technologies. Optical application of nanomaterials include nanocoatings for scratch proof plastic lenses, ultra precision optics for telescopes, high bright LEDs and anti-reflection coatings on glass. We find numerous nanomaterials applied in our cars too nanostructured exhaust catalysts, nanocoated diesel injectors, nanofillers in tires, scratchresistant and optically clear lacquers. The next wave of optical applications are based on advances in solid state lighting inorganic LEDs for illumination, organic LEDs for display, nanophosphors, quantum dot laser and more. Nanomaterials have even permeated the clothes that we wear, for example, dirtrepellant coatings on fabric, antibacterial coating using nano silver, and perfumeimpregnated textile using nanocontainers. The major markets for functional nanomaterials today, the largest by volume, are automotive catalysts, chemical mechanical planarization (CMP), magnetic recording media, and sunscreens with 11, 500, 9, 400, 3,100, and 1, 500 ton respectively. Not all applications use nanomaterials in such large quantities. For instance, biodetection and labeling materials are used in very minute quantities leading to their sales in much smaller quantities. But the price per kilo of such labeling materials will be higher than CMP materials or UV-blockers for sunscreens. The small size of the nanoparticles not only leads to useful properties, but also to concerns about potential health and environmental risks. The primary concerns include: One, at the tiny scale of few nanometers, the ratio of surface area to volume increases by orders of magnitude. With more reactive sites of the molecule thus exposed, the particle may have greater reactive potential and therefore greater potential for toxicity. Second, the small sized nanoparticles can easily permeate biological membranes, making them more readily absorbed and widely dispersed throughout the human body. Ingestion and possibly dermal penetration are likely to become increasingly significant exposure routes as engineered nanomaterials are used in an ever-widening range of products. It is important to the success of nanotechnology industry that health and environmental concerns are addressed early and adequately through systematic scientific investigations. We need to create sustainable nanotechnological innovations that solve the critical needs of customers. As the first step, the nanomaterials industry needs to focus its efforts to reliably manufacture nanomaterials in an economic and a safe manner. Shankar MV, principal scientist, R&D, Dow Chemical Company.

INDUSTRY CHALLENGES: THE NEED FOR TRANSITION FROM PROCESS TO PRODUCT The focus of nanotechnology innovation is to take insightful ideas in nanoscience and engineering successfully to the market. Nanotechnology innovation involves the development of new products and processes and the fresh technical insights that begets them. New products can take the form of high- evel building blocks (nanomaterial such as nano silver particles), mid-level intermediate goods (porous ceramics blocks coated with nano silver) and groundlevel final products (water purifier based on antibacterial action of nano silver). The underlying know-how for new products includes high-level general principles, mid-level technologies, and ground-level, context-specific rules of thumb. Technology innovations, especially high-level ones, usually have limited economic or commercial importance unless complemented by lower-level innovations. New know-how and products require interconnected, non-technological innovations on a number of levels. Currently, the conversion of ideas in nanoscience and engineering into corresponding innovations is relatively poor. Even if the seed idea is of very high technical merit, there is still a very high probability that it fails to reach the market or meet the consumers needs. First, the idea must be aligned with an important problem to be solved. Then the idea has to be strengthened into a rigorous solution. The intellectual property around the solution needs to be protected either through a portfolio of patents or other appropriate IP tools. And the freedom to practice the idea in a product/service must be established. The proof of concept should always be demonstrated through an appropriate prototype. Moreover, the idea should continue to work satisfactorily when scaled up in a manufacturing plant. The manufacturing process needs to be designed such that the end product is safe, cost-effective, and high in quality. There are multiple stages and gates through which the idea has to sail safely to reach the market. The process of innovation is, therefore, not confined to the R&D lab, but is spread across the breadth of the organization and sometimes beyond. In order to accelerate the transition of ideas into innovation and to maximize the return on innovation investment, many organizations are adopting the open innovation model where all players share their knowledge, participate in the development, and get the credit and a fair share of the innovation success.

India has a great opportunity to create an innovation ecosystem that facilitates the transition of nanoscience ideas into nanotechnology innovations. A close partnership between academia, industry, and government is desired to define a prioritized technology road map and set the stage for purpose-driven nanotechnology innovations. Investing in new ideas is traditionally considered as a high-risk, but effective management of the innovation process can significantly reduce the risk. Hence, India can emerge successful in commercializing nanotechnology innovations by creating a healthy innovation ecosystem and culture of innovation, excelling in technology innovation management across the value chain, and by adopting open innovation philosophy to accelerate the process and minimize the investment. Most nanomaterials companies have an offering which is either a process or a material made using that process. Successful adoption of nanomaterials in a product depends on our ability to demonstrate: a process that can engineer nanomaterials with high reliability; that nano-enabled products have significant functional benefits over existing products; an appropriate price point implying that nanomaterials must be produced in sufficient volume in the right quality, price, and yield. Commercialization of nanotechnology needs a shift from proving something can be done to the entrepreneurial approach of proving something can be sold. Further industrialization of this commercialized nanotechnology requires yet another shift to proving something can be reliably, safely, massproduced while achieving economies of scale. It is critical for companies involved in nanotechnology research to protect their intellectual property in order to commercialize their inventions. The protection could be in the form of patents and trade secrets. Further, patents can be licensed to third parties who would like to make use of these inventions. In fact, Indian patent law facilitates compulsory licensing of granted patents after expiry of three years from the grant of the patent. This kind of compulsory licensing would ensure that the inventions are worked in India on a commercial scale and to the fullest extent without any undue delay. Here are some of the key strategies that need to be adopted by inventors to obtain strong, valid and defensible patents on their inventions: Conduct a prior art search and a freedom to operate search. It is important to do a thorough prior art search before you prepare the patent application, in fact before you finalize your project proposals. A clear idea of the prior art would avoid reinventing the wheel kind of inventions, would save a lot of time and money, and would lead to patentable

inventions. This would also help in designing around potential prior art. Another point to remember is that the patent owner does not automatically have the right to practice her/his invention. It may be wise to conduct a freedom to operate search before investing and commercializing it. Avoid early publication or any public disclosure. Inventors should refrain from disclosing details of their inventions, submitting grant proposals, sell or offer to sale products before filing of patent applications. This caution may be more relevant to inventors working at universities where the trend is to publish rather than to patent their inventions. To draft strategic patent applications in a complex and interdisciplinary area such as nanotechnology is a very challenging task. One has to carefully consider all the existing prior art-patents and published papers, meticulously prepare the claims in order to get maximum coverage, and at the same time avoid entry into others territory. Building a strong patent portfolio by patenting along entire value chain rather than on one particular product or compound is very important in the field of nanotechnology. This process includes taking into consideration the basic chemical composition, the physical structure, the tool for developing that structure, the method of making/using the tool, and the manufacturing. Prosecution of patent applications in the nanotechnology area calls for great skill and knowledge. Patent professionals who understand both technology and the law may prove invaluable in handling nanotechnology patent applications. Compared to many other technologies, nanotechnology R&D requires huge investments for setting up fabrication, characterization, and measurement equipments. Thus collaboration between research centers at the national as well as international level would is desirable. The interdisciplinary nature of the technology itself is spurring collaboration in the form of alliances and acquisitions between academic institutions, private companies, and the government. Further, patent pooling (wherein all the patents required to make a product may be licensed together) may answer some of the challenges associated with nanotechnology inventions where several entities hold patents towards same inventions. Eventually such collaborations, open innovation, cooperative IP spirit, patent pools, and healthy licensing would help us to reap the benefits that nanotechnology offers. Successful commercialization of nanotechnology necessitates safe production, safe use, and safe disposal of products containing nanomaterials. Studies on the health hazards of certain nanoparticles, such as carbon nanotubes, and quantum dots has

revealed that the risk is a function of both its hazard to human health and its exposure potential. We need to systematically study and mitigate the potential health hazards posed by the nanosize and the nanostructure on nanomaterials behavior outside the body and on/in the body. Three routes of entry into the body are likely to be of primary significance for engineered nanomaterials inhalation, ingestion, and dermal penetration. Products that contain hazardous nanoparticles may create potential health and safety risks throughout the product life cycle, including stages such as material processing, transportation, manufacturing, use, and disposal. Gregory Morose from the Toxics Use Reduction Institute, USA, has recently proposed five principles of Design for Safer Nanotechnlogy: Change the size, surface, or structure of the nanoparticle so that the desired functionality is preserved, but the hazard and/or exposure potential of the nanoparticle is diminished; Identify an alternative material (nano or bulk) that can be used to replace the hazardous nanoparticle. If no alternative materials are available, then it may be necessary to eliminate the hazard by no longer using the nanoparticle in the product; Functionalize the nanoparticle in such a manner that desired product properties are preserved, but the hazard and/or exposure potential of the nanoparticle is reduced or eliminated; Encapsulate (completely enclose) a potentially hazardousnanoparticle within another material that is less hazardous; and reduce the quantity of potentially hazardous nanoparticle used in the product (while maintaining its functionality) if the application of any of the above principles does not reduce or eliminate the hazard. Currently there are many outstanding challenges that need to be addressed before product designers can fully apply these principles and make informed choices about nanoparticles. Nanotechnology is moving from the discovery phase into the commercialization phase. In order to successfully commercialize nanotechnology, the industry needs to proactively address certain technology, IP, and environment, health and safety challenges. The nanomaterials industry should shift its focus from process to product. The industry needs to develop a comprehensive strategy for creating and monetizing intellectual property on nanotechnology and make, use and dispose nanomaterials containing products in a manner that is safe to environment and human health INNOVATION: NANOLUBRICANTS IN THE MAKING

Researchers at General Electric (GE) R&D facility in Bangalore are working toward using nanotechnology to meet the lubrication challenges such as extreme environment conditions of low/high temperatures, emission norms, and low sulfur fuels. Today, the engineering world is replete with examples wherein kinetic energy is used to generate power, pump, or compress fluids, deform materials, generate power, or just transport objects from one location to another. Kinetic energy then implicitly involves moving surfaces in tribological contact, either under lubricated conditions or unlubricated conditions. In the world where machines require high power and high torque, lubrication of parts in contact becomes a severe challenge as one approaches the load bearing limits of the lubricants. Generation of wear particles is another source of problem in lubrication wherein hard wear debris slides down a surface. (The term wear can be defined as the erosion of material from a solid surface due to surface interactions and more specifically the removal of material from a surface as a result of mechanical action.) With the growing emphasis on efficiency and performance of mechanical equipment and an increasing demand on reliability and availability, there has been a spurt in activities on lubrication to meet these stringent requirements. In order to increase the longevity of parts, the mechanical engineering world is looking for solutions that can prevent or inhibit wear of parts. Advanced lubrication solutions aim at decreased power losses, seizure resistance, efficient removal of frictional heat generated, extended life of parts, and extended life of lubricating oils. The world of tribology can be divided broadly into two realms: Surfaces under oil lubricated contact and surfaces that have dry lubrication (assuming lubrication is always a liquid/oil that we are referring to). Scientists are turning to nanomaterials to address these issues. The nanolubricating additives are nanoparticles that can entrain into solid-solid contacts. These are typically layered compounds that easily shear across crystallographic planes. The trick is to ensure that such particles stay suspended in a lubricating oil, get in between sliding surfaces and shear off should the lubricating film break down. The benefits are multi-fold: friction can be reduced under the boundary regime; the load bearing capability of the lubricant can be increased; and wear can be reduced. To improve the performance of lubricating oils, tribologists are looking at newer additive formulations. Currently researchers are using metals and their compounds as additives that aid in producing a protective thin film either chemically or mechanically. The design philosophy is: when the film thickness is less than the size of the nanoparticles, the nanoparticles delaminate and may be lodged in the

asperities of the rough surface causing a solid lubricant film on the contact surface thus offering friction/wear protection during the time of low oil film thickness. Literature suggests that typical sizes of the nano additive particles that seem to be beneficial vary between 50 and 120 nanometer. However, the science of nano additives for oil lubrication will continue to address the right particle sizes, distributions, and appropriate morphology. Functionalizing layer properties is a key challenge to obtaining long-term stability of the oil. The oil additive system will have to be optimized to arrive at the right solution to solve the given friction, extreme pressure, and wear problems in any given application. One often runs into situations where it is not tenable to have an external liquid-based lurbricating media present. This is either because temperatures are too high for lubricating oils or because of extreme pressures coupled with low sliding velocity. Developing solid lubricating films that sustain high contact loads with good wear protection is an important need. Conventional dry film lubricants have large blocky lubricant particles embedded in an inorganic binder matrix. While such coatings offer moderate to low friction, their wear resistance is limited. The next generation coating concepts could include complex coating structure and chemistry. The next generation lubrication solutions are aimed for superior performance and protection of tribological components in harsh environment conditions. Thus, nanotechnology is offering promising new directions for advanced lubrication solutions. The teams in GE are focused on developing some of the most advanced lubrication systems in the world. Ultimately these additives will help lower operating and maintenance costs of components while extending their life. POLICY: INDIA NEEDS INFRASTRUCTURE FOR WORLD-CLASS RESEARCH In 2009, when Venkatraman Ramakrishnan was announced as one of the winners for the Nobel Prize in chemistry, the nation erupted in celebration. Encomiums poured in from all quarters, and Ramakrishnan was so overwhelmed with the reception that he actually asked people from India to stop contacting him with congratulatory messages and good wishes, which some in India found offending. Ramakrishnan emphasized how it wasnt important that a person from India had helped understand ribosomes, which are the protein-producing factories in cells, and it was significant because it was a fundamentally important scientific discovery. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan was born in India in 1952. He graduated from the Maharaj Sayajirao University of Baroda in 1971with a Bachelor degree in physics.

He then obtained a PhD in physics from Ohio State University in 1971, and went on to study and conduct research in biology at the University of California, San Diego, and Yale University. Today, he leads the group working on understanding biological structures at Cambridge Universitys Laboratory for Molecular Biology, the same laboratory where Francis Crick and James Watson discovered the structure of DNA in 1953. It is important to ask the question why Ramakrishnan chose to leave the country in 1971. If he had stayed in India after completing his studies at Baroda, he would not have been able to conduct the cutting-edge research that he did in laboratories across the U.S. and UK because India lacked the research infrastructure, even though a full generation had grown up since Independence was achieved in 1947. Moreover, it would have also been almost impossible for him to build a research career in biology after completing a PhD in physics. It is likely that Ramakrishnan would not have been able to do the work which ultimately won him the Nobel Prize if he had remained in India. Science would have been poorer. Nanotechnology is an enabling technology, and is based on the design and engineering of materials at length scales of below 100 nanometers to obtain unique and novel materials properties that would otherwise not be achievable. Its common experience that a cube of sugar takes much longer to dissolve than the powdered form. Certain material properties are size-dependent and it is this principle that is at the core of all nanotech innovations, which are rooted in breakthroughs in basic sciences and engineering. Recently, clean technology has become an area which is seeing the widespread application of such novel materials, including nanomaterials. Venture capital investment in nanotechnology and materials- based technologies has increased at a rate of over 40 percent annually worldwide since 1997, according to New Yorkbased research firm Lux Research. India received just two percent of global venture capital investment in 2008, compared to 10 percent for China and four percent for Israel, a country whose economy and population is many times smaller than India. As Asian countries such as China and India industrialize, productivity gains and process efficiencies derived from advances in nanotechnology and advanced materials will be critical to ensure that the consumption of naturally- occurring minerals and commodities is optimized and waste is minimal. According to numbers published by the Government of Indias Department of Science and Technology, investment in research and development has languished between 0.85 percent and 0.90 percent of GDP since 2000. Moreover, since 1998, private sector investment in R&D has grown substantially to contribute over 25

percent, while government investment has declined. This means that while tax receipts have increased in the period alongside the boom in the economy, the governments research funding has declined in relative terms and the gap has been bridged by the private sector. The bulk of R&D investment has traditionally come from the government, and this imbalance is being corrected. Nevertheless there is a case for increasing government investment. The substantial growth of the economy has not seen a commensurate increase in the establishment of more science and engineering universities and government R&D investment. Instead, we have seen a rationing of existing supply, with increased reservation of seats at the IITs and other centrally-funded universities, policies which can compromise merit and quality. We should be focusing on increasing capacity to such an extent that everyone has opportunity and nobody is left behind. Nanotechnology also presents some unique risk management challenges for health, safety, and the environment. These real and perceived risks must be duly evaluated within a well-defined regulatory framework, else nanotechnology might go the way of genetically-modified foods. International cooperation has been strong in this area, and India should work with the international community to formulate appropriate standards. It is not just the dearth of financial capital which makes building nanotechnology and advanced materials businesses difficult for entrepreneurs. Another severe constraint has been that of human capital. High-quality scientists and engineers like Ramakrishnan have frequently chosen to live and work abroad given the lack of access to leading-edge equipment and low budgetary allocation for research in science and engineering in India. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), two of the nations leading research institutions, were established by private trusts controlled by the Tata Group. Much before the IITs, the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, opened its doors in 1929 in the middle of the Rajasthan desert, offering courses in engineering from 1946. Indian science owes a lot to the vision of industrialists JN Tata, GD Birla, and JRD Tata, who played key roles in the establishment of IISc, BITS, and TIFR. If Indias best brains choose to work abroad, thats where they create new knowledge and technology. A self-perpetuating cycle begins with talentgravitating towards places offering cutting-edge equipment and infrastructure, sufficient research funding, and a high-quality pool of human resources. For most of the 20th

century, the U.S. was that platform and it continues to be the world-leader in technology development and commercialization. The U.S. had a similar experience precipitated by the World War II. Before and during the war, manyleading European scientists fled the continent and made America their new home. Among them were titans like Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi. Moreover, scientists from India and China also went west, with socialism in India and Maoism and the Cultural Revolution in China stifling the freedom and creativity of scientists like Ramakrishnan. The U.S. became the destination of choice for the worlds top scientific talent. Today, Indian scientists, who are doing some of the most important scientific research work in corporate and academic laboratories abroad, are thinking of returning to their home country. India must capitalize on the converging trends of recent economic turmoil in the developed nations, the rise of a consumer class in Asia, and the movement of the center of gravity for economic growth towards the Asian countries. Unforeseeable events and good fortune have presented us with a golden opportunity, and it must not be frittered away. China began changing its approach towards higher education in 1977, when Deng Xiaoping reinstated the Gao Kao university entrance examination system suspended by Chairman Mao. In the last three decades, China has become a hotbed of science and engineering research. According to data from the World Intellectual Property Organization, China was granted nearly 68,000 patents in 2007, while India did not even cross 8,000 patents. Over three decades ago China implemented the kind of reform India is attempting now under Union Minister of Education Kapil Sibal, and the results are there for all to see. India is not just a technology deployment market. We have a rich history and culture of scientific inquiry and achievement and there is no reason for it to be any different in the future, but India needs to proceed on a war footing if it is to realize its potential to lead the world in technology development and commercialization. Unlike any other country, we have the scientific and entrepreneurial talent but we require consistency and commitment in government policy. World-class research conducted by higher-education institutions and national laboratories is a key ingredient to catalyze businesses built around nanotechnology and cultivating a culture of academic freedom and flexibility of the kind enjoyed by Ramakrishanan when switching from physics to biology. Policy for nanotechnology cannot be constructed in a vacuum and should be designed keeping in mind the

accompanying environment where the research, which is the bedrock of this emerging technology, is conducted. Errors made earlier which drove talent away from the country must not be repeated. The existing environment has to be changed and it should be done not by piecemeal reform but wholesale liberalization. The government needs to set minimum standards for higher education institutions and play the role of an incorruptible referee. Once that happens, we will see a more thriving ecosystem of nanotechnology and advanced materials research, commercialization, and entrepreneurship which will increase productivity, generate wealth, and create employment. MARKET WATCH: ENTREPRENEURS ADOPT INVENTIONS TO INNOVATE Nanotechnology is an enabling technology and can be best understood as value chain of nanomaterials which are used to make nano-intermediates such as fabrics, coatings, memory chips, and mechanical components. These nano-intermediates are used for creating unique nano-enabled products as diverse as stain-resistant apparel, machine tools with extraordinary strength, aerospace components that are lighter and more durable, and electrodes which multiply the power and efficiency of batteries used in electric vehicles. Going by that working definition and standard, India does not have any noteworthy nanotechnology ventures. However, India does have a number of promising startups in the broader advanced materials space. Worldwide, the market size of nano-intermediates which allow for the development of unique nano-enabled products should grow from $29 billion in 2009 to $498 billion in 2015, a compounded growth rate of 61 percent, according to consulting firm Lux Research. Increasingly, nano-intermediates seems to be the space where new companies can create a niche by applying commodity nanomaterials manufactured by bigger players in innovative ways. The big success story to come from the nano-intermediates space is U.S.- based A123 Systems, a manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles. Founded in 2001, A123 took an innovation in battery electrodes developed in the labs of MITs Yet-Ming Chiang and applied it for lithium ion battery packs powering electric vehicles, offering better safety and performance characteristics at a competitive price. The company received venture investment of about $300 million from firms such as Sequoia Capital, North Bridge Venture Partners, Procter & Gamble, CMEA Capital, and General Electric. The company went public last year,

and jumped 40 percent on listing on the NASDAQ. Even now, A123 boasts a market capitalization of over $2 billion. As Indian industry matures and becomes more competitive, Indian corporates too will look at adopting and assimilating leading-edge technologies in their products. It is also crucial to encourage market competition as a part of economic policy, because only then will larger corporates be driven to take risks and embrace innovation. It is no coincidence that sectors such as software, Internet, and telecommunications, which see the the big chunk of venture investment and are among the more dynamic, innovative, and high growth sectors in Indias economy, are also the ones relatively less constrained by bureaucracy and red-tape. Indias ecosystem for nanotechnology and advanced materials companies is still evolving, and is relatively underdeveloped compared to other sectors such as Internet and mobile value added services, but given the latent talent the technology should see more entrepreneurial activity and venture capital investment in the coming years, assuming prudent policy-making in higher-education and the liberalization of the economy go hand in hand.