Examining the current state of nano and advanced materials. Exploring the future for manufacturers.
After the Manufacturing Tech Council’s October webinar on nanotech/advanced materials, we reached out to Fiona Case to get her insights into the state of nano today, a perspective on the most important trends and developments, and the most interesting and exciting use cases for nanotech.
Fiona is the coordinator of nanotechnology and advanced materials programs for the Nano Science and Technology Institute (NSTI), and the technical program chair for the annual TechConnect World Innovation Conference. She has more than 30 years’ experience in the industrial applications of advanced materials. Her career has included work at government labs, in the research and development groups of major corporations, as a self-employed contractor, and more than 9 years working at a startup company as it transitioned and grew. For the last 14 years Fiona has worked with the NSTI. She also has a long-term “second career” in scientific journalism writing for Chemistry World (Royal Society of Chemistry) and as a contributing editor of Inform Magazine (American Oil Chemists’ Society).
We posed three big questions to Fiona.
Q: Nanotech was a big topic on the technology landscape in the past years, but it seems as though we’re hearing less about nanotech and new materials these days. Is that because nanotech is not delivering on earlier promises or because it’s moved into a more mature phase where there’s less hype and more real-world applications?
A: This question surprises me. I assume that your assertion that ‘we’re hearing less about nanotech and new materials these days’refers to a drop off in science and technology reporting in the popular press and on TV, or in social media, compared to the 1990’s and earlier? This is a serious issue – not least because the current generations of kids are not being inspired to engage in science and technology – which leads to work-force challenges (I’m sure some of your readers are experiencing this). I’m not sure what we can do about this issue? There are so many interesting, and positive stories to tell about new materials, and about the advanced manufacturing technologies that can bring them into products. How do we get the word out?
Certainly, anyone who attends the TechConnect World Innovation Conference is hearing about new materials each year (our next conference is June 16-19 in Boston, MA). At this point in the year, 8 months out from the conference, I’m spending time talking with our symposium chairs as we decide which new materials, and which advanced manufacturing innovations, we will highlight with invited or keynote talks. It’s one of my favorite times of the year.
It is difficult (impossible?) to say anything general about the success or promise of ‘nanotech’ – or ‘advanced materials’. For every new material there is a development cycle – from the excitement of the original discovery through the challenges of manufacturing and commercialization until, hopefully, the material emerges to enable new products, or a new industry, or to meet a previously unmet need in the marketplace, or to simply drop the price and enhancing the capabilities of a current product.
Over the last decade I have been impressed by the work of the Federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, and of industry-specific initiatives such as the SunShot Initiative (for solar technologies) andARPA-E (for energy storage, generation and grid technologies). Their work has increased our understanding of the development/manufacturing/commercialization process for remarkable new materials – so they can enter the ‘more mature phase where there is less hype and more real-world applications’. This transition may involve new manufacturing approaches. These programs provide a modest amount of funding. They also provide support and training and help innovators make contacts with industry and investment opportunities at the TechConnect Conference (which is co-located with the SBIR/SRRT Spring Innovation Conference). We are all working to increase the chance of success for new materials that have clear commercial potential.
Q: What are the two or three most important trends in nanotech/new materials right now?
A: There are ongoing developments in characterization of nanoscale materials – this is critical for large-scale commercialization. For example, there have been some worrying reports about poor quality control in graphene manufacturing.
Efforts to address environmental stewardship, and health and safety, as new materials and advanced manufacturing methods are developed (rather than trying to deal with these issues after-the-fact) should be applauded. The applications-focused presentations and industry discussion panels at our conference provide a unique opportunity for industry leaders to share their learnings in this area with representatives of government labs, regulators, and consultants.
I continue to be bullish about the potential for computer modeling and simulation in advanced materials design (I worked in the field earlier in my career). It’s taking a little longer to realize the vision of ‘in-silico design’ than some of us had hoped – but for the most forward-thinking companies these techniques are already cutting development time and identifying new materials.
Q: What is most exciting to you in nanotech/new materials these days? Is there a particular application or use case that holds the most promise in your eyes?
A: There is a huge list. I cannot think of a single industrial area or consumer product that is not hamstrung waiting for a new material – and in almost all cases there are materials under development that may meet those needs.
The water industry is waiting for new membranes that are sufficiently efficient, durable and low cost to enable really wide-spread implementation of desalination – there is a significant market if the right material can be found (also for water purification)
Solar power generation could become massively more prevalent, replacing fossil-fuels for most electrical power generation, with new materials that are cheaper and easier to install (spray-on solar, printed solar, flexible solar – all these are under development)
Consumer trends towards ‘all natural’, ‘clean label’ and ‘sustainable’ products for personal/home care products, cosmetics and foods additives could be met by new bio-based or bio-sourced materials – this is an active area of research and development. My prediction is that these new sustainable materials (which are more than drop-in replacements for the current fossil-oil-based materials) will also jump-start innovation in those industries bringing totally new products to the market.
Micro- and nanoscale cellulose is a great example of a material that has been fascinating researchers for more than 10 years – and intriguing product developers with interests ranging from building materials to cosmetics and food. Recent manufacturing innovations have made this material more commercially viable. The new materials development in the field of energy storage is remarkable, with innovations focused on every part of battery or flow cells. When some of these materials emerge, and energy storage costs plummet, we will see significant new markets – particularly in areas that do not have (and now will not need to develop) an electric grid, or areas that need a more resilient power supply.
Personalized medicine and the ‘internet of living things’ offer a vision of health care that is simultaneously better and cheaper. Realizing that vision requires new sensor materials, and also new materials for wearable diagnostics and treatment devices. The sessions on materials development for sensors, diagnostics and imaging at the TechConnect World Innovation Conference are well attended!
3D printing and additive manufacturing are certainly touted as revolutionary techniques in manufacturing, but they will not fully live up to the hype until new materials become commercially available for printing. There are some fascinating new materials under development and I am intrigued to see which ones will succeed in the market place.
Innovations in modeling and simulation, and the application of machine learning, are allowing developers to identify promising new alloys and metal-matrix composites in a fraction of the time – and also unlocking the secrets of alloy manufacturing. This has profound implications for lighter, stronger, more durable materials.
Fiona can be contacted at fcase@nsti.org.
