Feasibility study for an Estonian Materials Technology Programme

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57 Feasibility study for an Estonian Materials Technology Programme 2. Materials technology in Estonia There is also a significant amount of chemistry research that is not reflected in the materials technology publications. For depicting potential application areas of various fundamental research fields, four distinct and very different applications are included in Figure 11 including: Atomic Layer Deposition (mostly thin films and nanoelectronics) Metal-Matrix composites (novel composites for metals industry) Microscopy and measurement Biomaterials Atomic Layer Deposition is the spearhead of nanoelectronics related research in Estonia mostly performed at the University of Tartu, Institute of Physics. ALD is also extensively applied by the Estonian Nanotechnology Competence Centre. The technology has so far had a huge impact in the development of integrated circuits but the technology market is still rather small at an estimated 1 billion USD in 2014 61 . In comparison, an estimate of the global nanoelectronics market in 2015 is a stunning 409 billion USD, which is far more than all other market size estimates given for advanced materials in this section. Other important areas for nanoelectronics in the future include carbon based nanomaterials such as graphene, which is also studied at the University of Tartu. The main application areas of ALD, thin films and other fundamental condensed matter physics research are nano- and microelectronics, optics and sensorics. 62 However, it is very unlikely that Estonia would be able to establish new nanoelectronics business from scratch and more focus should be put in commercialisation of research findings. Novel materials and composites are a field similar to novel coatings for metals industry described in the applied research section. The research is mostly conducted by the same departments as in coatings but the research is currently in a more fundamental phase. The markets for these advanced composites are still rather small (e.g. 280 million USD for Metal Matrix Composites in 2015) 63 but there is huge potential for these advanced materials when their superior properties can be applied in e.g. transportation applications with a competitive price. The global microscopy market (estimated at 7.7 billion USD by 2015) 64 is a very quickly growing field that on a more general level describes the importance of measurement and metrology technologies for future materials technology development. With state and EU support from e.g. the structural funds, Estonian universities have invested large amounts of money into state-of-the-art measurement and microscopy equipment, which opens huge possibilities for utilising this equipment base for the development of Estonian advanced materials industry. There are already good examples (MikroMasch) of commercialisation of advanced measurement technologies and good infrastructure should definitely be utilised on a larger scale in the country. For e.g. metals and machinery industry, non-destructive evaluation of materials and structures is growing in importance in manufacturing industries as it allows inspection of various materials without the need for breaking them down. This takes testing of structures of e.g. buildings and machinery to a new level as virtually any component can be inspected without the need for choosing specific pieces for sampling and breaking them. In addition to the key expertise listed earlier, notable research expertise is present in Estonia in various fields of chemistry. This includes the research and synthesis of bioactive materials and new organic compounds, synthesis of stereo-isomers as well as novel super strong Lewis acids and bases. This research is mainly conducted at the University of Tartu in the Institute of Chemistry and due to the fundamental nature it is not reflect in the publication data of materials technology journals. 2.5.5 High-tech company cases The following section includes more details of four companies mentioned in the previous section on technology transfer. In addition to these, there are several other interesting companies that could have been included. Here, we have only included cases that are based on the interviews with company representatives. One interesting case not included is Crystalsol which is a university spin-off from the Tallinn University of Technology. Crystalsol has received one of the most notable venture capital investments by foreign investors in Estonia, including investors from Austria, Finland and Norway as well as significant support from the EAS. 61 Electronic.ca 62 http://www.physic.ut.ee/kile/common.html 63 Global Industry Analysts 64 Report Buyer
58 Feasibility study for an Estonian Materials Technology Programme 2. Materials technology in Estonia Crystalsol is now run by Austrian business partners and consequently was not included in the interviewed cases. Currently, Crystalsol operates at two locations. Research and development of the semiconductor powder takes place in Tallinn. Development of the device and the production process is based in Vienna, Austria. Crystalsol develops an entirely new type of flexible photovoltaic module with a significant cost and versatility advantage compared to all currently known photovoltaic technologies. The technology is based on decades of research for the Russian military and Philips semiconductor know-how from the 1960s. The core innovations are the crystalline semiconductor powder made from a patented new material and the low-cost roll-to-roll production process. Crystalsol’s technology leads to cost reduction of 50-60% compared to current industry average. This means production cost below 0.3 EUR per Watt peak achievable in the medium term. At this cost level the generated electricity is cost competitive with conventional energy sources. According to Professor Mellikov at Tallinn University of Technology, who is one of the founders of the company, one of the reasons to establish the spin-off was to create a place for his PhDs to go work once they graduate. Case: Baltic Technologies Development Background is R&D Baltic Technologies Development (BTD) is a biotechnology company orginally established in 1993 with the business plan to sell services from Estonia to Finland. Today the company has taken one of the R&D approaches developed in its sister company Molcode with an aim to develop novel platforms for medical drugs. BTD has lifted over 5 ME of investment money and is a limited liability company with shareholders from the US, Estonia and Finland. The company has not sold any products yet. The company employs 5 PhDs. Technology is based on teaching computers to construct new compound properties and future products under development include: New generation antisense gene-silencing technology Novel antivirals Neurotrophic factor mimetics as the potential drug candites targeting Neurotrophic factor artemin mimetics as the potential drug candidates targeting neuropathetic pain The first big application area is in neurodegerative diseases. For neurology, new componds mimicing proteins are developed to keep neurons alive. In case of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s, the neurons die due to lack of nutrition. Their competive advantage compared to other pharmaceutical companies is the new kind of platform. Traditional pharmaceutical companies slow down the progress of the disease, whereas BTD future products try to cure the cause. Vision: To have production started by the end of 2011. Partnerships and confidentiality agreements have been signed with very many big pharmaceutical companies. University-Company collaboration Majority of the research is conducted as contract research at the universities with partial help from Estonian public funding. In addition to Tartu University and Tallinn Technical University, university partners also include Helsinki University in Finland. Research results have been published in high-class journals. Lessons learned/key success factors from the interview Platform development, especially for the pharmaceutical industry, takes a long time and a lot of money. The company has brilliant technology with potential for a large return. Company was created by a professor in Estonia because he believed he had enough educated people to work at them. The company can be categorised both under biotechnology as well as a novel materials technology development. Contact and more information: Professor Mati Karelsson, mati.karelson@ut.ee
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Innovation studies 15 2011 Feasibil
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Authors: Commissioned by Technology
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Table of Contents Executive summary
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