The Nanotech Boom Has Started

There were two significant stories in nano-land recently that put the “now” and “future” for nanotech into clearer focus.

Before I get to those, as a prelude to the now of nano, I wanted to share something I picked up on this past weekend. On Saturday, April 5, KCI Communications, Inc, held an investment summit for its Wealth Society members and other interested KCI subscribers.

These folks read my content on a regular basis, and many have a position or two in my stock picks. Their main comment was, “This is all very interesting, but when is it going to come to market?”

It’s already here. But no one knows that. I think many people are expecting a tickertape parade for the introduction of nanotech into our lives. Or at least a banner on a box of detergent that says, “NOW WITH NANOCRYSTALS!”

But it isn’t going to happen that way. It’s more like the transition from carburetors on cars to fuel injection systems. A few people may know what’s happening, but most won’t care or even notice. Such is the case for this “revolutionary” development.

Bear in mind that it’s not the fact that nanotech hits the marketplace like a giant meteor; it’s the fact that, like global warming, it’s ineluctable yet gradual. And that makes it less dramatic and less attention-grabbing but just as real and just as significant. We simply aren’t wired to grasp that; we’re too impatient, not for results but for the splash.

If you’re an investor waiting for the splash, then you’ve missed most of the run. In the water world, things that splash get eaten by the top-line predators who’ve been lying in wait. So it is with investing in an emerging market or emerging technology. It’s the latecomers, who think they’ve been prudent and waited until “just the right moment,” who get eaten.

Anyway, after that happy analogy, I want to share with you the news.

First, a Canadian tech market research firm reported that nanomaterial and nanoparticle prices have come down to levels affordable for widespread use in consumer products:

“Over the past two years, scale up of multi-wall carbon nanotube production has led to a dramatic price decrease down to $150/kg for semi-industrial applications. According to the new market research report, the run for industrial CNT production plants has started in order to achieve a sustainable business with the commercialization of these high-tech materials with a midterm price target of $45/kg.

The prices for nanoclays have also dropped slightly, but the question of price versus performance ratio is not yet solved. At this point, some commercial nanoclay applications have been abandoned for cost reasons. Silver-based nano-additives have made a successful market entry (50 percent of nanoproducts) and are now widespread in white goods, clothing and food applications. Further market penetration is forecast in the coming years, though the lack of standardization, regulation and the health and safety aspects might impact this evolution.

The nanotech industry is moving from research to production with over 500 consumer nano-products already available. Though nanotechnology has long been seen as tomorrow’s technology, developers of nanoproducts are focused on today’s market opportunities. Some previous limitations have been addressed thanks to improvements in the dispersion of nanoparticles and the decrease in the production cost of nanotubes.

This report is designed to understand the market for nanomaterials, the players including the organizations, as well as the accessibility of the market. It highlights the technical functions made possible by nanomaterials to create our daily nanoproducts.”

As a matter of fact, one of the big nano controversies making the rounds now is about the launch of socks and bandages made with silver nanoparticles to act as an antibacterial/antimicrobial agent. Some scientists point out that the nanoparticles kill bacteria whether they’re beneficial or detrimental. Some scientists are concerned about the implications of silver nanoparticles’ efficacy relative to safety. Also, what happens when we start disposing of these socks/bandages on a large scale?

My point isn’t that there are substantial, unanswered questions about nanotech; that could be said of every industry, even established ones. My point is that we have nanotech socks and bandages on the store shelves now. There are cosmetics, sunscreens, self-cleaning windows, drug delivery vehicles, batteries, tennis balls, bicycles, golf balls, shirts, pants, etc. And now this report confirms what everyone should know already: Nanotech is here.

The second piece of news is out of the University of Copenhagen, where researchers have moved one step closer to finding a simple way to transform “spintronics” from a quixotic dream to a commonplace reality in coming years. For more on this interesting, nano-computing offshoot, check out the March 28, 2005, issue of Nanotech Investing News.

Essentially, the group has formed a transistor using a carbon nanotube (CNT)—which is now getting much cheaper to buy and produce, as the March 28 article notes—and a single electron. They can now use a single atom as a memory device.

Granted, although this is groundbreaking work that people have been trying to achieve for years, it only opens the door to computing’s future; it doesn’t get you into the living room, sit you down in a big chair and hand you some food and a drink. There’s still a long way to go, but at least we know we’ve got the right house, and getting inside is possible.

However, quantum computing—or spintronics—is much cooler to talk about than nano-enabled socks and Band-Aids. But a lot more people need socks and bandages than a spintronic-enabled computer.