Lord Sainsbury of Turville

MICRO AND NANOTECHNOLOGY (MNT) NETWORK EVENT

We have seen many projections of the likely size of the global market for nanotechnology, with estimates just a few years ago suggesting a 1 trillion dollar market by 2010. I think this will turn out to be an underestimate. But whatever the size we need to know where we in the UK stand.

In a survey carried out last year The Industrial Map of the UK was able to identify at least 370 companies in the UK who are actively engaged in nanotechnology. 120 of these have been generated as spin-out companies by our universities. These companies range in size from familiar multinationals like Unilever and AstraZenenca to specialist SMEs like Nanosight in Salisbury and Nanomagnetics in Bristol. Furthermore, work to update this survey has shown that this figure has at least doubled since the survey was completed.

Despite having taken an early lead in nanotechnology in the 1980s the UK had fallen behind by the late 1990s. So I asked Sir John Taylor, then head of the UK Research Councils, to review our position and recommend a strategy to get us back into the game. His report showed that support for nanofabrication facilities and R&D was needed. So just over two years ago I announced an investment of £90million to support the commercial development of MNT in the UK.

This investment has been roughly evenly split between Applied Research and Development projects, and Capital Facilities or infrastructure. Businesses in the UK need access to a robust infrastructure to take full advantage of the cutting edge research, equipment and expertise available within the UK, in both industry and universities.

Although never as fast as some people would like, progress has been good and to date £22 million has been invested by DTI in establishing the first nine open access facilities across the country. These facilities are targeted at four technical areas; the UK MNT Bio Nano Centre and Eminate are active in the area of bionanotechnology, and NanoForce is active in the application of Nanomaterials into new products, with the BegbrokeNano facility providing the underpinning characterisation and metrology services necessary for the sector to grow and develop. The Bondcentre, SemeMEMS, UK-LMC and MicroBridge facilities are all active in the area of micro and nano device manufacture and integration.

A further 15 potential facilities are in the final stages of development and I look forward to giving you more details of these in the coming months.

A significant aspect of this programme has been the enduring close partnership which was set up between central Government and the regions and devolved administrations in order to maximise the use of the various funds available. This has encouraged industry to more than match the DTI’s investment, and the RDAs are also co-funding a number of these facilities. The latest estimate is that, once all of the Capital Facilities Projects investments have been completed, businesses throughout the UK will have access to equipment and facilities worth in the region of £700 million.

Industry and universities are not standing still while things take shape of course. The four Technology Programme calls for collaborative R&D projects have produced around 300 proposals, encompassing a wide range of applications of micro and nanotechnologies. We expect to be able to offer support to about 60 or 70 of these proposals and 22 of these are already under way. The total value of these projects is estimated to be around £90 million.

We knew from the outset that we would have to work in partnership with all stakeholders to improve our position. We need to be able to promote ourselves to the world as a capable and coherent partner in order to secure the economic benefits promised by nanotechnology. The MNT Network was established at the beginning of 2004 to provide a focus for this partnership and Professor Clare was invited to become its champion and has done a fantastic job. The Network is supported by DTI, the Regional Development Agencies in England and the Devolved Administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This commitment ensures that the Network is fully inclusive and involves all of UK industry, institutions and other organisations engaged in MNT activity, and I am extremely pleased with the contribution the Network is making.

The Network has created some useful tools to help bring the community together. There is an active Internet based Forum which has already attracted a membership of more than 650 individuals, companies, institutions and organisations. We also now have a useful directory of organisations and their capabilities, which should be of great assistance to all those seeking partners to develop their new nanotechnology based products and processes whether they are based in the UK or elsewhere in the world.

This is, however, only the beginning. We will continue to support nanotechnology through the MNT network, through the £320 million Technology Programme, and through the DTI’s business support products, and we will work hard to ensure that the UK continues to forge ahead in this major and exciting area of technology.

All of this activity has been built upon the UK’s strong academic base across the many disciplines that constitute nanotechnology. There are more than 90 significant research centres/groups actively engaged in MNT in 48 different academic institutions across the UK.

All of this activity led to significant inward investment over the past year with the global MNT community increasingly viewing the UK as good place to undertake R&D.

A further sign of how far we have come is the awarding of the first MNT “Quality Marks” later this afternoon.

These awards were created via a partnership between the MNT Network and the Micro-systems Manufacturing Association and are based on the Institute of Mechanical Engineering’s internationally recognised MX awards.

These awards provide a benchmark for a company’s performance and potential, and are a sure sign of growing company maturity and development in this technology.

Measurement and standards play a vital role in the responsible development of new and emerging technologies. The National Physical Laboratory is leading UK efforts in the development of standards and metrology for nanotechnology. As part of our MNT initiative, they are working to establish a network for co-ordinated metrology support with leading UK instrument manufacturers. They have also collaborated with the London Centre for Nanotechnology in establishing the UK MNT Bio Nano Centre I referred to earlier.

Recently NPL has developed highly innovative microfabricated devices for instrumental force calibration and has contributed heavily to the development of a vocabulary for nanoparticulates that will set out a clear framework for international trade.

In addition, NPL has been instrumental in the establishment and development of strategic direction for the newly formed ISO committee for the standardisation of nanotechnologies and the UK has gained the Chairmanship. We have also played a leading role in developing a European strategy for nanotechnology standards. This is hugely important as metrology and standards developed on the basis of sound science will be key to safe and efficient development of nanotechnologies for the benefit of society and industry.

The promised benefits of new technologies have, however, to be examined carefully to ensure that they do not create unforeseen problems. As I am sure you will all be aware, in 2003 I commissioned the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering to conduct an independent study into the environmental, health and safety, ethical and social implications of nanotechnology, and to suggest areas where additional regulation should be considered.

The Government’s response to this report was published earlier this year and one of the main commitments was to outline the work and research programme that the Government will undertake to ensure that nanotechnologies are safe and have no adverse environmental impact. The first stage is to gain a clear view of the scope and scale of existing research and regulations in order to avoid wasted effort, excessive overlap or gaps in the regulatory framework. This means working in partnership with a wide range of other Government Departments, European Commission Directorates, other Governments across the world and international bodies such as the UN and OECD. This work is complex but we will be reporting on progress on the both national and international fronts towards the end of this year.

After a hesitant start we are now making good progress to help our businesses capture the benefits of micro and nanotechnologies. I also believe that the continued activities of the MNT Network, and further opportunities for Collaborative R&D and Knowledge Transfer Networks through the Technology Programme, will contribute to our meeting the challenging objectives set in the government’s 10 year Science & Innovation Investment Framework, and to ensuring that UK is a global leader in micro and nanotechnologies in the years ahead.