Stakeholders discuss the future of nanotechnology
Nanotechnology has overcome early technological barriers to offer the world smaller, lighter and better performing materials in a wide variety of applications. These have ranged from agriculture to manufacturing, pharmaceuticals to electronics and textiles to the environment, to name just a few. Nanotechnology still faces challenges, including a concern for safety and sustainability of products and manufacturing processes. Therefore, European policy makers, researchers and industrialists came together at the EURONANOFORUM 2011 to discuss these issues and exchange knowledge and experiences. The EU-funded project ENF 2011(opens in new window) (Organisation of EuroNanoForum 2011) attracted 1 200 attendees to Budapest’s Congress and World Trade Centre, who took the opportunity to view the latest developments and hear about the most recent breakthroughs. Participants also met new business and industry contacts, built partnerships and learned about funding opportunities. The event featured updates on the latest development from over 70 leading research centres. It also brought together nanotechnologies that can contribute to solving major challenges such as renewable energy, ageing populations and resource efficiency. Presenters described hundreds of solutions including the production of flexible solar cells, nanoparticle-based cancer therapies, and battery energy density optimisation. A plenary presentation on the potential applications of graphene also highlighted the fact that field nanotechnology is constantly expanding as a result of new developments and discoveries. During the session, an industrial panel described ways in which public funding could contribute to the entire innovation pipeline, from research to commercialisation and deployment. ENF 2011 showed that nanotechnology is the key enabling technology that underpins a wide range of other enabling technologies and processes, already impacting our industry and society at large. The outcome of the conference will influence future research challenges to be addressed in the Horizon 2020 research programme.