Potential

Opportunities and Investment

Degussa regards nanotechnology as a key technology with enormous economic potential. It facilitates the development of new and improved products and processes and is a driving force in all major growth markets. Degussa sees major prospects in the use of this new technology to improve the production and storage of energy, and in areas such as surface treatment, mobile electronics, catalysts and production processes that minimize the use of resources. Other applications include cosmetics and wear-resistant ceramics. Nanomaterials are also expected to open up new methods of diagnosing and treating illnesses within the next ten years.

Economic significance

A number of reports have identified nanotechnology as the key technology of the twenty-first century and anticipate that it will have an enormous impact on industry and employment. Banks estimate that the market is already worth more than USD 100 billion. Nanomaterials account for about a quarter of this.

Creating new jobs

A report commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research in 2004 on the role of nanotechnology for future growth concludes that in Germany between 50,000 and 100,000 jobs in companies and research facilities are directly or indirectly dependent on nanotechnology. More - and above all, more innovative - jobs are likely to be created in this sector in the years to come. Experts are predicting that around 10,000 new jobs will be created in Germany by 2007. In Germany, 450 companies already use nanotechnologies and 80 percent of them expect to hire more employees.

Germany is one of the world leaders in nanoresearch. The absolute leader is the United States. The most conservative estimate assumes that global sales of nanomodified materials will reach EUR 220 billion by 2010. [Source: DG Bank, GZ Bank, 2001: Im Fokus. Nanotechnologie in der Chemie, Frankfurt am Main].  Even a skeptical interpretation of these analyses and forecasts suggests that nanotechnology has the potential to play a significant role in strengthening the economy.