On Tuesday, August 4th, Alliance to Save Energy hosted “Nanomanufacturing: Big Energy Savings from Tiny Particles,” a briefing to examine nanotechnology and its promising influence on modern manufacturing processes and products. The event was moderated by the Alliance’s Vice President for Programs, Brian Castelli, and featured subject experts from various facets of nanotech including Daniel Rardon of PPG, Inc., James Ruud of GE Global Research, Matthew Nordan of Lux Research, Inc. and Robert Celotta of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Dr. Robert Celotta kicked off the program providing a thorough overview of nanoscience—the manipulation of matter on a nanoscale, or 1 to 100 billionths of a meter. Dr. Celotta described the benefits of nanotechnology in broad contexts explaining successful applications impact nearly every industry in U.S. manufacturing. Celotta went on to discuss standard approaches to nanotech research and development, and additional opportunities to align interests of academic, governmental, and private research efforts which could accelerate deployment of market ready offerings.
Dr. James Ruud of GE Global research and Dr. Daniel Rardon of PPG Industries, Inc. shared private sector approaches to research and development of commercially relevant products. Dr. Ruud focused on nano-enabled technologies that benefit harsh industrial environments, including manufacturing and power generation. Ruud demonstrated that with enhanced material engineering a number of universal industrial challenges (eg: friction, durability, extreme heat) could be diminished or even eliminated, yielding significant efficiency gains in industrial processes. Dr. Ruud also discussed phenomenon from the natural world that could be mimicked on a nanoscale to achieve superior performance in industrial applications.
Dr. Rardon of PPG Industries focused on nanotechnology incorporated in manufactured products, resulting in higher performance to product end-users. Rardon provided examples of commercial glazing technologies which incorporate low-emissivity coatings to achieve properties of high insulation. Dr. Rardon also discussed the value of public-private research initiatives and highlighted existing shortfalls in deployment sequences that could be minimized with continued federal support. One example cited was investment in production infrastructure, which represents a significant gap in deployment funding—one which many promising nanotechnologies cannot bridge without outside support.
Matthew Nordan of Lux Research, Inc. framed the technical presentations by adding an economic context, drawing parallels from the commercialization of nanotech to other market-changing materials such as nylon and plastics. Mr. Nordan offered an expert perspective on the position of U.S. nano capabilities and federal investment relative to international competitors. Despite leading investment in absolute terms, when considering the purchasing power parity, the U.S. is lagging to a number of Asian and European rivals. Nordan concluded his remarks providing four compelling reasons for the U.S. to continue pursuing a leadership position in the nanotech; efficient industrial processes, efficient manufactured products, energy independence and security, and job creation. Lux Research projects enormous potential for nanotechnology in the mid-term concluding nanotech will touch $3.1 trillion of products across the value chain by 2015, which represents an estimated 15 percent of domestic production.
Tuesday’s program was the second in a series of briefings to take place over the next 18 months. The Alliance to Save Energy, with support from Department of Energy’s Industrial Technologies Program, will be hosting Efficient Enterprises: Powering American Industry, highlighting specific opportunities to enhance energy efficiency in the U.S. industrial sector. This seminar series will emphasize energy efficiency as a key issue underpinning the revitalization of the American economy while easing environmental impacts resulting from industrial operations.
Please contact Paul Bostrom (Pbostrom@ase.org) for general information or to inquire about speaking opportunities.
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