NANOTECHNOLOGY
‣ Equally important is the provider having the capacity to invest to meet your future production demands . Does the production capability for the nanomaterial you require exist at the provider ’ s facilities ? At what scale ? Does the provider need to raise capital for future expansion in order to meet your commercialisation goals ? Have they demonstrated experience scaling up to larger production volumes ? Characterisation expertise is critical to all aspects of nanomaterial design and manufacturing . The absolute bare minimum capability for nanomaterial design and QC includes capabilities to evaluate size , size distribution and % solids ( for dispersions ). A more comprehensive analytical capability includes TEM , SEM-EDS , SLS , EDS , XRD , XRF , TGA , DTA , GC , ICP-MS , Zeta potential , BET and others . Due to the high upfront cost of equipment and the ongoing cost of dedicated analytical personnel , more youthful companies tend to underinvest in this area . Instead , they rely on third-party commercial labs or universities . This will increase the overall cost of product development .
It will also increase the time required , since nanomaterial design relies on many rounds of analytical learnings created from prior experimental data .
IP
Intellectual property ( IP ) rights between companies can be a thorny issue to work through , though they do not have to be . Each nanomaterial provider will have different positions with respect to IP . As a product development team , your goal is to create new innovations that provide a strategic competitive advantage in the marketplace . Protection of key IP is core to creating this advantage . You must look for providers with established IP positions . The best choice will be one who is not looking to own or co-own the IP around the composition of the material for your intended field of use . Typically , as the customer , you should not expect to own the manufacturing process for making the composition , which will rely heavily on the provider ’ s IP . However , a good provider will be able to manufacture on your behalf or will provide a clear and concise means for you to use their process-based IP through a licence . Competition can be problematic . Be mindful of providers who are developing products enabled by nanomaterials and also selling design and manufacturing services . For many product developers , there is a risk ( perceived or real ) that their provider may try to monetise their confidential information in some way , shape or form . To avoid this risk of competition , you are better off working with a firm who has a clear policy of focusing only on nanomaterial design and manufacturing and not product development ; has years of operational history to prove it ; and is willing back its policy up with straightforward contractual language . •
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Landon Mertz
CEO
CERION NANOMATERIALS landon . mertz @ cerionnano . com www . cerionnano . com
Doug Singer , EVP of manufacturing , and one of Cerion ' s pilot manufacturing systems
40 SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE ESTABLISHED 1981