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Taiwan showcases impressive progress in nanotechnology

Taiwan's nanotechnology industry is set to attract international attention as a series of activities related to the nation's International Nanotechnology Week kicks off tomorrow.

"Taiwan's nanotechnology industry has been catching up fast with its peers worldwide in recent years," said Su Tsung-tsan (蘇宗粲), general director of the Nanotechnology Research Center of the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工研院), at a press conference yesterday.

Citing figures from the US National Science Foundation, she said that Taiwan was ranked No. 9 globally in terms of patent numbers from 1975 to 2003.

As Taiwan only acquired most of its nanotechnology patents af-ter 2000, the nation has made good progress over the years, she said.

According to Su, worldwide investments from governments and the private sector on nanotechnology amounted to US$10 billion last year, and are projected to reach an annual output of US$2.6 trillion in 2014, representing huge business opportunities across all industries.

On the local front, the output value generated by nanotechnology-related industries stood at NT$70 billion over the past two years, and is anticipated to reach around NT$300 billion by 2008 and exceed NT$1 trillion in 2012, according to statistics of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), one of the organizers of the International Nanotechnology Week.

The applications of nanotechnology are being utilized well by the nation's traditional, energy, semiconductor and biomedicine sectors, said Shyu Jyuo-min (徐爵民), the ITRI's executive vice president.

He said that the International Nanotechnology Week, with the title "Taiwan Nano Tech 2005," will run from tomorrow through Sunday at Taipei World Trade Center Hall I and will serve as a platform to showcase Taiwan's research and development on nanotechnology to the world.

One of the activities, the International Nanotechnology Exhibition, will rope in 103 local and overseas vendors with 175 booths.

Other activities include the 2005 Taiwan Business Alliance Forum, which will introduce Taiwan's nanotechnology development to the international business sector for foreign investment, and an international seminar.
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