| Posted: December 14, 2009 |
New nanotechnology association established to address 21st century natural resource and energy security challenges |
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(Nanowerk News) Senior policymakers and experts in the defense and cleantech industries got a boost today with the announced formation of the NanoAssociation for Natural Resources and Energy Security (NANRES). NANRES is a trade organization designed to advance the research, development, and commercialization of innovative energy and environmental-specific nanotechnologies. Among its founding organizations is Lockheed Martin Corporation.
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“The nexus between national security and energy and the environment will become increasingly evident as the effects of climate change limit our access to natural resources and issues stemming from our ongoing addiction to oil and other fossil fuels exacerbate,” said Erin Ross, Co-Founder and President for NANRES.
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Slated to be a 3.1 trillion-dollar industry by 2015, nanotechnology will continue to influence a broad spectrum of industry sectors with new and innovative science-based technologies. While nanotechnology applications will impact many different fields in the long term, it is the energy sector that stands to benefit the most in the early stages. Industry-specific applications now underway range from the way in which energy is captured and stored to mitigating the effects of climate change and strengthening our defense agility.
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The formation of NANRES comes at a time when energy and environmental sectors look to technological innovation to address their pressing needs. The newly formed Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program and infusion of federal funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, and the proposed American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), indicate a critical demand for energy and environmental specific technologies.
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“NANRES understands the national security and environmental concerns associated with our current energy landscape. We are pleased to take a leading role in the advancement and commercialization of groundbreaking nanotechnologies, which provide viable solutions to the natural resource and energy challenges ahead, advancing the nation on a path to clean energy innovation and global competitiveness,” Ross added.
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NANRES will address the key needs of energy security through focused research, development, and commercialization of nanotechnologies that will bring alternative innovative energy solutions to the domestic marketplace, while also working more specifically to address US military alternative energy needs. It will also focus on accelerating environmental nanotechnologies that will strengthen the nation’s resource security by enhancing its access to clean, viable, and domestically available natural resources, at the same time supporting nanotechnologies that will address environmental, health, and safety measures.
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With its elite Executive and Scientific Council and expected participation of 200+ organizations, over the next decade NANRES expects to be the leading expert membership organization promoting innovative environmental and clean energy nanotechnologies that will provide a more secure and prosperous society. During this formative stage, NANRES will continue to actively foster key partnerships with academic, research, corporate, and scientific institutions.
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