Commercialization of Nanotechnology - Taiwan Experiences

Taiwan National Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Program started in 2003. The budget is about US$ 600 million for six years. Compared to some countries, this is not a big number. Our strategy is to focus on industrilization. 65% of the budget was for industrialization nanotechnology. Our National Program is an industrialization driven program. Stumbling blocks to commercializing nanotechnology and Taiwan strategic initiatives to industrializing nanotechnology will be described in this paper. The stumbling blocks will be analyzed in two different phases. The first one is from science to industry. The other one is from nanoproducts to users. Taiwan strategy initiatives including government commitment, positioning of different players and infrastructure built for nanotechnology will be discussed in this paper. To industrialize nanotechnology, linking nano novel properties to applications is essential. The first approach to be presented is novel material-driven approach, which is to derive application concepts from the unique properties of a novel material. Carbon nanocapsule and tetrapod-like zinc oxide will be used as examples to illustrate our experiences. The other approach is need-driven approach. To maintain competitiveness in some products, nanotechnology could be quite helpful. Several examples, including CNT-backlight unit (BLU) and nanoclay in PU synthetic leather will be described. Nanotechnology is a hot R& D area globally. Differentiation strategy is very important. Self-cleaning paint is cited as an example to be differentiated from others. Through nanotechnology development, we believe that our daily life will be improved dramatically.