Australia to join the nanotechnology revolution

Australian companies, institutions and individuals are being invited to express their interest in collaborating with their counterparts across the globe in developing manufacturing processes for the revolutionary 21st century field of nanotechnology.

When fully developed, it will have applications in many industry sectors including the building materials, plastics, packaging, processing, clothing, construction, mining, defence, aerospace, energy, environment, computing and health sectors, to name just a few.

The collaborative nanotechnology initiative is being developed by IMS (Intelligent Manufacturing Systems), an industry-led, international R&D network established at an inter-governmental level to develop the next generation of manufacturing and processing technologies. Nanotechnology and other emerging technologies are priority R&D areas for the IMS, as exemplified by the recently proposed Nanohouse project, which looks at applying available nanotechnologies to the building construction industry.

IMS Australia is now proposing to establish a Community of Common Interest (CCI), called 'n-ABLE', in nanotechnology manufacturing. It is seeking manufacturers, users, product developers, investors, researchers, academics and others with an interest to participate and collaborate in a long-term relationship that will drive innovation in manufacturing for the rapidly evolving nanotechnology industry. The intention of the CCI is to enable and facilitate synergies among its members while creating new IMS projects and programs to address the priority needs of the nanotechnology-manufacturing sector. These include the development of manufacturing technologies for new nanotechnology-based input materials and end-products, and the metrology needs for those technologies. Additional priorities include addressing the need for education and training in the new production methods, tools, and analytical and testing techniques required for nanotechnology manufacturing. They also involve understanding the possible toxic and other hazardous properties of various nano-materials and the possible effects those materials, along with processing at the nanometre scale, may have on other living matter.