Investment Bugs Catching Nanotechnology Fever

by Peter Shout

Toronto - A new bug is going around and if your an avid investor in cutting edge technology then you might catch the nanotechnology fever that's sweeping the world.

From government research to private industry, cash is starting to flow into nanotechnology, much of it through cooperative research centers funded by industry, government and institutional investors.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded $10.3 million to Nanosolar Inc. to continue its development of solar electricity cells. The news was released late Tuesday.

The award was made via DARPA's Microsystems Technology Office. Nanosolar, based in Palo Alto, Calif., said it is collaborating on the development of next generation solar cells with Stanford University, The University of California at Berkeley/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories and Sandia National Laboratories.

Biophan Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: BIPH), announced today that its TE-Bio subsidiary has signed an agreement with NASA for joint development of high-density, nanoengineered thermoelectric materials for use with implantable medical devices.

Research will be conducted at the NASA Ames Research Center for Nanotechnology in Moffett Field, CA. "This agreement with NASA highlights our commitment to collaborate with world-class development centers for commercializing the technologies that are part of Biophan's portfolio," stated Michael Weiner, CEO of Biophan.

Biophan's NASA announcement fell on the heels of Weiner's having spoken at a Financial Investment Analysts Money Managers Society (FAMMS) meeting in New York last week. FAMMS, an industry association of New York City-based investment professionals, were given an over view of the company's technology and business strategy by Weiner. At the meeting, Weiner discussed Biophan's latest patents and biomedical technologies and fielded questions from the analysts and money managers.

According to a report by Lux Research, world spending on nanotechnology research will top $8.6 billion this year. The U.S. has now appropriated more than $3.16 billion to fund nanotechnology R&D since 2000 and is proposing $982 million in new funding for FY 2005. The US government will spend nearly twice as much on nanotechnology this year as it did on the Human Genome Project (HGP) in its peak year. In 2005, the National Nanotechnology Initiative will surpass the HGP on a cumulative basis.

Lux Research's report, "The Nanotech Report 2004", says established corporations will spend more than $3.8 billion globally on nanotechnology R&D in 2004 alone.

In Kolkata India Tuesday, speakers at a nanotechnology meeting of government, industry, educational and research organizations, criticized industry for not investing more heavily in nanotechnology research.

Experts from the nanotechnology sector urged Indian industry to invest substantially in the sector for industrial applications in the areas of electronics and computers, pharma and biomedical sector.

Speakers were of the opinion that in India, investment in nanotechnology was very low compared to countries like the US, where more than 500 corporations were investing in this field of research.

Nanotechnology fever seems to be sweeping the globe with events like these happening daily and more investors are beginning to get the bug, and thanks to research organizations like Lux, they're able to get a better picture of just how big this new industry is.

Most of the nanotech sector stocks are relatively unheard of, like Biophan (OTCBB: BIPH), Isonics (NASDAQ: ISON) or Perfisans (OTCBB: PFNH). All companies making breakthrough developments in the nanotechnology sector and who've all been saying what Lux Research apparently validated, that the nanotechnology market was going to explode with growth.

Source: Source Press

reprinted from [AxcessNews.com]