Worldwide it has been estimated that the market for nanotechnology alone could be worth £1 trillion by 2013. The benefits to the UK economy from exploiting the opportunities this represents should not be and are not being underestimated.
To that end the DTI is spending £90 million over six years (it was announced in 2003) on research and infrastructure that promotes the commercialisation of Micro and Nanotechnologies (MNT), with a focus on collaborative research and technology transfer. Much of this is ‘pump priming’ funding and includes:
funding of £40 million for applied research projects that are relevant to industry;
funding of over £50 million to establish and maintain for five years a network of 23 Nanotechnology Centres developing nanotechnology solutions for industry in the areas of nanometrology, nanomaterials, nanomedicine and nanofabrication;
funding for the Nanotechnology Knowledge Transfer Network—this a vehicle for the community to develop its ideas and interactions and a communications route between that community and the Government; and
support for the Nanotechnology Industries Association—an independent organisation that promotes the responsible use of nanotechnology and raises awareness of its many applications among key audiences.
This funding has been spread across the UK, and the North East is the location of no fewer than four Nanotechnology Centres1 and is well represented in the consortia undertaking the nanotechnology applied research projects.
After the third MNT competition for the Applied Research Programme, in spring 2005, the Technology Strategy Board decided that future support for MNT would be integrated with other technology areas such as materials within the Technology Programme. It is through this mechanism that future funding for nanotechnology will funded; for example, the spring 2007 Technology Programme Competition has two priority areas which involve the application of nanotechnology:
Smart, Bioactive and Nanostructures Materials for Health—£7 million
Plastic Electronics—£5 million.
The Technology Strategy Board will be responsible for the research agenda and expenditure on nanotechnology.
The Research Councils are funding ongoing fundamental research. For example, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has spent over £132 million since 2003 on nanotechnology, and is currently investing about £40 million per annum in research grants and supporting 40 new PhD studentships per annum in the area.
Regionally, North East England has a strong micro- and nanotechnology capability in the areas of bio-nano materials and devices, as well as semi-conductor research and production and the integration of these technologies in areas such as sensors and photonics.
ONE NorthEast, in collaboration with the DTI, is making a major investment in MNT, and the North East is home to the University Innovation Centre for Nanotechnology. This is a ‘virtual’ centre fronted by the five Regional Universities, with a public investment of £7 million from DTI and One NorthEast, and leveraging an extra £14 million. It facilitates knowledge transfer, the strengthening of capacity and capability, and open access to state-of-the-art facilities.
North East England has two centres of excellence concerned with facilitating the application of nanotechnology, the Centre for Excellence in Nanotechnology, Microtechnology and Photonics Systems (Cenamps) and the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI). Both have major initiatives concerned with nanotechnology, which include the Fuel Cells Application Facility, a major bio-nano and medicine programme and the National Industrial Biotechnology Facility (£7 million). The Centres are funded and supported by ONE NorthEast, in partnership with Central Government, Universities and businesses. These initiatives span and bring together different disciplines, industries and sectors as befits the broad outlook of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is also becoming increasingly important to the region’s process industries. In this sector, the CPI provides industrial research and development expertise, for example in advanced manufacturing and new product development in material properties.
Additionally, these Centres of Excellence play a key strategic role in the economy of North East England, facilitating ‘cultural’ change within the Regional Universities, encouraging them to become more entrepreneurial, and strengthening and building on the region's capabilities in emerging small-scale technologies.
An example of a successful new nanotechnology enterprise is Durham Scientific Crystals (DSC). DSC is a spin-out company from Durham University’s Physics Department. The Company, formed in April 2003, is actively involved in developing proprietary semiconductor materials. In partnership with the University, it has worldwide exclusive rights to commercially exploit a patented technology. The research was supported by One NorthEast and the Research Councils prior to the spin-out from the University, and Cenamps has supported DSC since formation. DSC has subsequently received £1 million funding from US-based venture capitalist Amphion Innovations, which will help take the business to its next stage of development.
1 The four Nanotechnology Centres are Fluence in Redcar, National Particulates in Wilton, INEX in Newcastle, and Plastic Electronics Technology Centre (PeTEC) in Sedgefield. Furthermore, Fluence, INEX and PeTEC are all co-funded by ONE.