Nanotechnology in Finland: Market Report

 

Introduction

Finland is located between Sweden and Russia in Northern Europe. It covers an area of 338,145 km² and had a population of 5,262,930 as of July 2012.

Finland has the 4th largest knowledge economy in Europe behind Sweden, Denmark and the UK.

Finland has a diversified modern industrial free-market economy with fields such as electronics (e.g. Nokia), metrology (e.g. Vaisala), transport fuels (Neste Oil), engineering consulting (Pöyry), chemicals (Kemira), and information technology (e.g. Rovio). Services is the largest economic centre contributing to the GDP, followed by manufacturing and refining.

The GDP of Finland was $194.3 billion in 2011.

 

Nanotechnology Organisations

Finland has many world-leading organisations and networks committed to promoting nanoscience as well as exploring the challenges and future of nanotechnology. A brief introduction to the key nanotechnology-related organisations in Finland is given below:

Spinverse- Spinverse commercialises emerging technologies and creates new business by combining industrial, financial and scientific expertise with worldwide networks. Their customers and partners include innovative growth companies, global industrial leaders, the world’s leading universities, venture capital firms and public funding organizations. Their services include business development, technology and market studies, fundraising and large programme management. Their technology experience covers new innovations in energy, electronics, environment, materials and nanotechnology.

Tekes - The Tekes’ initiative is implementing nanotechnology partnerships between China and Finland. The principles of strategic co-operation have been agreed between Ministry of Science and Technology of China (MOST) and Ministry of Employment and the Economy of Finland. The main guideline is supporting new nanotechnology innovations, their utilization and commercialization to enhance industrial competitiveness in both countries.

Finnish Nanotechnology Cluster Programme- Nanotechnology Cluster Programme initiated by the Ministry of Employment and Economy promotes nanotechnology based business in Finland. The mission of the Nanotechnology Cluster Programme is to foster the growth of Nanotechnology based business, supporting implementation of nano and micro technologies and future materials in Finnish companies.

HelsinkiNano -The initial idea for the HelsinkiNano initiative arose from the recognition of the fact that the region has considerable expertise in nanoscience, but nobody to gather together the research groups that are spread out in different universities. HelsinkiNano was thus started to act as a catalyst to create contacts within the science world and also between companies and universities.

NanoCenter Finland - gathers together the nanoscience centres and research departments in Finland to maintain and develop national co-operation as well as internationally competent nanoscience and nanotechnology infrastructure in Finland.

Academy of Finland - The Academy of Finland’s mission is to finance high-quality scientific research, act as a science and science policy expert, and strengthen the position of science and research.

 

Nanotechnology Companies

The major nanotechnology companies in Finland that cater to the diverse nature of nanotechnology sectors are listed below along with a brief introduction to each of them:

• Attension- Attension is one of the product organizations within the Biolin Scientific group, a global provider of high-tech analytical instruments for nanoscale study of interfaces. Their product range consists of optical, force and bubble tensiometers for education, research and development. They also provide solutions for high-throughput development, quality control and process control in such industries as chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electronics, food, energy, paper and packing.
• Optitune - Optitune is a cleantech company of Finnish origin with R&D and manufacturing capabilities in Singapore and Finland. Optitune nano-science is a revolutionary coating technology offering cost effective and environmentally friendly light management solutions for the solar, touchscreen, electronics and construction industries.
• Canatu Ltd. - Canatu Ltd. is a leading developer of a new class of versatile carbon nanomaterial based components with industry transforming qualities. Based on their three key innovations - their novel NanoBud® nanomaterial having outstanding physical and chemical properties, their environmentally friendly and low cost Direct Dry Printing® process, and their superior proprietary methods for cost effective production of high-quality carbon NanoBuds® - Canatu is actively transforming cutting edge research into cutting edge business.
• DCA Instruments- DCA Instruments is a company specializing in the design and manufacture of Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) and UHV thin film deposition systems and components. DCA is a Finnish company located in Turku, in the southwest corner of Finland. Since the company was founded in 1989, DCA has installed more than 100 UHV systems around the world. Finnish high tech is at its best at DCA. A large part of their business has always been building complex, custom design deposition systems. They utilize their custom design background in the manufacturing of standard systems. Their design flexibility is valued by their customers. Many of their standard systems have started as a solution to a customer's particular deposition process.
• Dekati - Dekati develops, manufactures and markets instrumentation needed in fine particle measurement and sampling. In 1995, Dekati introduced the world’s first real-time fine particle concentration and size distribution measurement instrument. Since then, their R&D department has continually increased the range of products which now consists of nearly 15 products for various different particle measurement needs.
• Hydrocell - Hydrocell is a leading developer and manufacturer of high-quality energy and fuel-cell technology and a range of air cleaners that employ related technology. They have been a leader in the sector in northern Europe since 1993. They manufacture CO₂ filters for industrial and laboratory use, and filters and filter solutions for handling tobacco smoke. Their product range includes efficient brush-type heat exchangers, and easy-to-install heat-storage, heating and cooling solutions. Our company values are high-quality products, satisfied clients and excellent service.
• Picosun - Picosun is an international equipment manufacturer with a world-wide sales and service organization. They develop and manufacture Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) reactors for micro- and nanotechnology applications. Picosun provides their customers with versatile, reliable, and user-friendly ALD process tools, which offer unique scalability from research to production. Picosun is based in Espoo, Finland and has its US headquarters in Detroit. PICOSUN™ ALD process tools have been installed in various universities, research institutes, and companies across Europe, USA, Asia and Australia. 
• Beneq Oy - Beneq Oy,Vantaa, Finland, is a supplier of industrial equipment for global markets. Beneq is addressing the market of industrial equipment for producing functional surfaces with latest technology, typically utilizing nanosize materials. Beneq acts as a business facilitator adding value for high-tech partner companies by converting proven innovations into industrial equipment. 
• Nanoway - Nanoway commercializes the top innovations created in the research of low-temperature physics in Finnish universities. In particular, they own the patents which cover the CBT-thermometer and SINIS-cooler. They have made an agreement with Aivon on marketing and delivery of CBT thermometers.
• Fluilogic - Fluilogic develops, produces and markets micro and nanoliter dispensing modules for applications used in precise liquid handling on global markets. The patented Electro-Magnetic Bellows technology (EMB-technology), invented in 2000, has enabled them to reach a new era in cost-effective and precise liquid handling.
• Genano Ltd - Genano Ltd is a Finnish high tech company specialized in air purifiers. Their solution is GENANO TOTAL AIR CARE™.
• KSV NIMA - With 30 years of expertise and 97% of the world’s top one hundred natural Life Science Universities using their instruments, they are the leading provider of instruments for thin film fabrication and characterization in research and development globally. Their instruments are being utilized in nanotechnology research, surface chemistry, surface physics, biophysics, colloidal research, biochemistry and materials development.
• Millidyne - Millidyne is an innovative materials technology company providing advanced coating materials and surface treatment technologies for customers in the metal, electronics, construction and process industries. They develop and manufacture specialty coating raw materials combining nanotechnology and surface engineering.
• Nanocomp - Nanocomp is a privately-held company established in 1997 to implement strong expertise in basic and applied optics research into advanced technology products. Focusing on design, manufacture and replication of optical components, Nanocomp carries out continuous research and development to provide versatile services for various branches of industry.
• Puraliq - Puraliq is a company that specialises in manufacturing ultra pure metal based chemicals for nanoparticle production. They offer customer solutions, flexible and responsive production and fast delivery.  Puraliq is incorporated in Finland. Their headquarters and their research, development and manufacturing operations are located in Lohja.  They use state of the art reaction equipment to maintain the highest possible purity during processing phases. They also offer purification services especially for laboratory scale applications.
• Carbodeon - is a privately owned Nordic company with corporate headquarters in Helsinki, Finland. Carbodeon NanoMaterial manufacturing is located in Vantaa, Finland, together with an R&D and an applications laboratory which serves in house and customer projects. uDiamond® and Nicanite® are Carbodeon registered trade marks. Carbodeon's technology including its material specifications, production and applications are covered by patents.
• Picodeon - Picodeon is a privately owned Finnish nanotechnology company specialized on thin film coatings and surface treatments with its patented Coldab® Ultra-Short Pulsed Laser Deposition (USPLD) process. We are located in Ii, northern Finland and providing equipment, solutions and services for our clients worldwide.

Nanotechnology Education and Research

Finland is home to a number of world-leading universities that offer research and educational opportunities in nanotechnology. Given below is a list of universities and academic institutions in Finland and the academic courses or research opportunities offered by them in various aspects of nanotechnology.

• Micronova - Micronova is Finland's National Research Infrastructure for micro- and nanotechnology. It is jointly run by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Aalto University. Their mission is to develop innovative, enabling technologies, and to apply these in practical micro- and nanosystems.
• Aalto University - offersM.Sc. degrees in Micro- and Nanotechnology. The University promotes Computational Nanoscience (COMP). The basic strategy of COMP is to develop and apply cutting-edge theoretical and computational methods and the best available computing resources in attacking challenging problems in condensed-matter and materials physics.Aalto University also hosts the Nanomicroscopy Center.    
• VTT Technical Research Centre - VTT Finland is the largest multitechnological applied research organisation in Northern Europe. VTT provides high-end technology solutions and innovation services. One of the areas of interest is nanotechnology and VTT explores and develops nanomaterial applications using biomolecules.
• University of Helsinki - The Laboratory of Inorganic Chemistry at the university is involved in the research of Thin Films and Other Nanostructured Materials. One of the Department of Physics' key focus areas is Materials Physics where The research projects in nanoscience are multidisciplinary.
• University of Jyväskylä - offersM.Sc. Nanoscience and a National Doctoral Programme in Nanoscience. The university promotes the Nanoscience Center (NSC), which is a cross-disciplinary research center shared by the departments of physics, chemistry, and biological and environmental science.
• Vantaa Innovation Institute - helps to accelerate the growth of Vantaa and the Aviapolis area into an international business environment. Vantaa is an international innovation hub located next to the capital city of Helsinki. The Institute promotes the Nano Lab Finland- which is a showroom for new nanotechnology solutions and products in Vantaa.

Recent Developments

Reports revealed in March 2012 that nanotechnology-based businesses are growing rapidly in Finland and have been doing so since 2008. According to recent statistics, there are about 210 nanobusiness companies in Finland, whereas in 2008 there were only 65. The figures were published in an international coating seminar in Mikkeli, Finland.

Reports published in October 2012 stated that the nanotechnology is a strong growth sector in both Finland and Russia. The partnership between the two countries has worked really well and has led to this technology becoming a success. The Finnish-Russian Nanotechnology Innovation Alliance has helped accelerate commercialization of nanotechnology based innovations. Earlier in April, Rusnano announced a EUR25 million investment in Beneq.

In November 2012, Picosun Oy, a leading Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) equipment manufacturer, joined the China-Finland Nano Innovation Center, which was opened on 2 November in the city of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province in the Eastern China. The Center was initiated by Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of China and Ministry of Employment and the Economy (TEM) of Finland to strengthen ties between the two nations in the field of nanotechnology.

In June 2013, VTT announced that they are able to produce metallic nanoparticles that are not yet commercially available. The process reactor used to produce these nanoparticles runs at atmospheric pressure, reducing running costs. Running costs are further improved through the use of affordable raw materials and a continuous process.

A workshop also held in June heard how nano-silver used by Vietnamese and Finnish researchers was able to save dying shrimp farms and preserve fruit for relatively long periods of time. A separate workshop has heard how Nordic countries including Finland have been racing to collaborate with China to exploit science and technology opportunities with areas such as nanotechnology, new materials and clean technology being of significant interest.

Researchers from Utrecht University (the Netherlands) and Aalto University in Finland have been able to attach tiny pieces of gold to graphene nanoribbons in such a way so as to create electrically transparent connections so that they could assess the electrical properties of the graphene.

 

References

Updated: Oct 3, 2014