Download - Nanowerk

1 Introduction
Security is becoming an increasingly important facet of global society. The issues are
many-fold and include protecting citizens and state from organized crime, preventing
terrorist acts, and responding to natural and man-made disasters.
In October 2003 the European Commission engaged a “Group of Personalities” in the
field of security research “to propose principles and priorities of a European Security
Research Programme (ESRP) in line with the European Union’s foreign, security and
defence policy objectives and its ambition to construct an area of freedom, security and
justice”. This group reported their findings in March 2004 “Research for a Secure
Europe”, which recommended the formation of a European Security Research Advisory
Board (ESRAB). This was established in July 2005 with a remit to operate until the end of
2006. ESRAB reported in September 2006 with a comprehensive description of
strategies, sectors to be developed, and implementation routes (the result of the efforts
of over 300 individuals). It recognised that some R&D can benefit security as well as
other sectors (e.g. sensors, protective clothing, communication, and materials for
decontamination); however it recommended that an annual budget of at least €1 billion
be set aside for specific security research at the European level, and that a European
Security Board be established.
In the context of Framework Programme 7, the EC has divided security R&D into four
activity areas: protection against terrorism and crime; security of infrastructures and
utilities; intelligence surveillance and border security; restoring security and safety in
case of crisis. These are seen to have applications in many sectors including transport,
civil protection, energy, environment, health, financial systems.
Nanotechnology has been a key priority in the Sixth EU framework programme for RTD
(FP6, 2002-2006) and this remains the case in the Seventh Framework programme (FP7,
2007-2013), with a budget of €3475 Million for the NMP programme (€399.263 Million in
the first call in 2007). With regards to nanotechnology research projects aimed at
security applications; the EC funded three projects in the final call for FP6: TERAEYE,
which has the objective of developing an innovative range of inspecting passive systems,
based on Terahertz (THz) wave detection, to detect harmful materials for homeland
security; DINAMICS, which has the objective of developing an exploitable lab-on-chip
device for detection of pathogens in water supply systems; and NANOSECURE, which has
the objective of developing systems that can be widely deployed for early warning and
detoxification of harmful airborne substances with far higher efficiency than current
methods. It is expected that some nanotechnology and security projects will be funded in
the second call for proposals in FP7.
This report describes nanotechnology applications for civil security and divides this into
four broad sections:
• detection, including imaging, sensors and sensor networks for the detection of
pathogens and chemicals;
• protection, including decontamination equipment and filters, and personal
protection;
• identification, including anti-counterfeiting and authentication, forensics,
quantum cryptography and the market for counterfeit and grey goods;
• societal impacts, including current regulatory and ethical frameworks, potential
impacts on ethics and human rights, and public perception.
The report concludes with a summary of the Nanoforum workshop on “Nanotechnology
for Security” and describes some of the activities that are taking place in the EU Member
States.
2