Tag Archives: novosibirsk state university

Siberian carbon nanotube industry

I like to focus on the Russians from time to time as I find their nanotechnology strategy quite interesting. The government created an agency, RUSNANO Corporation whose mandate has changed at least once since its beginning. Two things that have remained consistent is Anatoly Chubais who leads the organization and the nanotechnology focus. Here’s the latest news in an Oct. 16, 2015 news item in the Siberian Times,

Some 28% of total greenhouse gas emissions ste the result of  production of traditional materials, such as steel, cement, paper, aluminium and plastics, said Anatoly Chubais.

Yet the use of single-walled carbon nanotubes lower the consumption of materials in production and thus reduces emissions. Now OCSiAl, a portfolio company of Rosnano, has created the world’s first industrial production technology of single-walled carbon nanotubes, he said.

The unique technology of synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes, which can be used as an additive for most materials, was developed in Russia at production plant Graphetron 1.0, created and launched in Novosibirsk’s university and research satellite Akademgorodok.

… In the past year were made 200 kg of nanotubes.  This year will be about one ton, and in the next two – three years it is planned to reach an annual level of 30 – 40 tons. For reference – the global market last year, offered only two tons.’

Chubais said that ‘our calculations show that if the rate of use of materials with nano-additive grows as we expect – and we have a fairly conservative assumptions – by 2030, the volume of emission reductions from this factor will be equal to, or greater than, reducing the volume of emissions from the use of all renewable energy in the world.’

OCSiAl have published a ‘Manifesto of the Carbon Century’ where they argue  for the production of more effective materials. …

Given the scantiness of the information I get about RUSNANO and Russian nanotechnology efforts it’s difficult to infer much from this or my Sept. 12, 2014 posting (the most recent posting till now) where Chubais proposed creating a joint China-Russian nanotechnology investment fund. As for OCSiAL (I was unaware of just how close the Russian connection is), a Nov. 18, 2014 posting was the most recent one to feature the company, which proposed opening a production plant in Israel.