German Research Ministry says country's nanotech sector is "well positioned"

19.06.2007 12:24

FORBES/WOLFE Nanotech Weekly Insider:

Thomas Rachel, Undersecretary at Germany's Research Ministry (BMBF) says it is not yet clear who will be king of the one-trillion-dollar global market for nanotech products. In an interview with the German edition of Technology Review, Rachel admitted that the US was the leader in private sector investments and in bringing nanotech research to the market. However, he says that German companies are "well-positioned" in such areas as nanochemistry and nano-optics.

By 2010, the German government will be devoting a rather large investment budget to nanoelectronics: 323 million euros. Rachel said such a large investment was necessary because semiconductor technologies will be the main growth driver for all of Germany's main industries. "Here, Germany has already managed to make up a lot of ground," Rachel explained, adding that Dresden had now become the number one "electronics valley" in Europe.

Rachel denied claims that nanotech applications for environmental technologies were not being promoted enough: support for such applications was already implicit in the BMBF's focal innovations for nanotechnology. "On the other hand, we are currently discussing making environmental aspects a separate subcategory within the 'NanoNature' category."

Rachel also expects the International Standardization Organization (ISO) to pass the first nanotech standards by the end of 2007, which will provide "clarity for nanotech products." However, Rachel also still supports having a special set of regulations for nanomaterials adopted, as environmental organizations have been demanding for some time.

For more, see Technology Review online:

• "Das Rennen ist offen" [The Race is On]

(Craig Morris) / (jk/c't)