Industrial valorisation of strategic value chains for nano-enabled products
Europe is facing a severe economic crisis reflected by low growth, limited innovation and unemployment. At the same time, the world is facing critical challenges related to environmental pressures, increasing energy demand and global climate change. To fulfil the European economic growth strategy, certain key enabling technologies have been identified and one broad group falls under the umbrella of nanotechnologies. The NANOFUTURES (A cross-ETP coordination initiative on nanotechnology) initiative links more than 1 000 stakeholders and they came up with 27 market-driven value chains of strategic importance. To speed up innovation and meet goals, the EU funded the VALUE4NANO(opens in new window) (Value4Nano: Industrial valorization of strategic value chains for nano-enabled products) project. The nanotechnologies of interest were identified by four strategic value chains for the support at the production of displays, self-cleaning paints and coatings, powders for machine tools and multifunctional composite sheets for the transport sector. Market and gap analyses highlighted the potential economic and social impacts of the selected value chains and the requisite technical and non-technical actions for implementation. Information from the analyses and expert groups supported the creation of a short- to medium-term implementation roadmap for each value chain and a list of potential pilot lines. The implementation actions were evaluated by the expert groups and the NANOFUTURES network, and detailed business modelling and planning were developed for the selected pilot lines. In 2012, NANOFUTURES established a network called NANOFUTURES lighthouses in a bid to translate European activities and actions at regional and local levels. These lighthouses helped coordinate efforts and further develop the potential in nanotechnology through information on joint technology initiatives, research programmes, research projects, and policies. During VALUE4NANO, 15 more countries joined the NANOFUTURES platform. In total, 26 countries in Europe, Latin America and Asia are represented. Details on the network contacts can be found on their web platform(opens in new window). VALUE4NANO disseminated its activities through several meetings, workshops, newsletters and its website. The newly developed roadmaps based on a value-chain approach seek to maximise successful commercialisation of nanotechnology. This will be a boon not only for the European industry, but for the entire planet and its citizens.
