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Netherlands

Nanotechnology science and engineering in the Netherlands builds on research and development (R&D) areas of physics, supramolecular chemistry, life sciences, and electronics. Acknowledging the national importance of nanotechnology, the Dutch government funded a public-private partnership: NanoNed. Scientists within the NanoNed network have achieved positive results in terms of patents and publications. Science and government prepared for the next phase: translating research into innovation, and dealing with emerging social issues, most obviously the uncertainty about the safety of nanomaterials. At the end of 2009, this led to the Netherlands Nano Initiative (NNI) and the launch of a societal dialogue on nanotechnology. Both events comprise important milestones in anticipating nanotechnology's impact on science and society.

Building on the Shoulders of Giants

A clear connection to well-developed scientific disciplines like nanophysics, supramolecular chemistry, and lithography, and the R&D activities of large industrial players like Philips, DSM, and Akzo Nobel provided a strong starting point for nanotechnology science and engineering in the Netherlands. The actual organization of the Dutch nanotechnology community, however, started with a interactive foresight study by the Study center for Technology Trends (STT) in 1998. This study showed the importance of nanotechnology for electronics, materials, molecular engineering, and instrumentation, which fit well into established Dutch R&D areas of electronics and the life sciences.

As in many countries, in the beginning, nanotechnology research heavily relied on government funding. Substantial amounts of the national gas revenue are allocated for investment in the national knowledge infrastructure. Recognizing the importance of nanotechnology, the government stimulated research groups from around the country to set up a nanotechnology consortium that could respond to a national call for proposals in 2003.

The research of the NanoNed consortium, led by David Reinhoudt, was granted for the period 2005 to 2010 (some activities starting earlier), with an overall investment of 235 million euros, 1,200 researchers, national infrastructure sharing, and a technology assessment program. The research programs of NanoNed, called Flagships, focus on advanced nanoprobing, bottom-up nanoelectronics, chemistry and physics of individual molecules, bionanosystems, nanoelectronic materials, nanofabrication, nanofluidics, nanoinstrumentation, nanophotonics, nanospintronics, and quantum computation. By 2009, the NanoNed consortium contributed largely to the Dutch highly ranked position of investments per capita, patents, publications, and citation scores in internationally comparison, for example, in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) compendium of statistics.

From Research to Innovation

From 2003 on, scientists and policy makers were increasingly confronted with the question of what benefits and risks nanotechnology might actually bring to society. Following discussions raised in the European Parliament, and the nanotechnology visions stated by the European Commission, the Rathenau Institute—the Dutch parliamentary Technology Assessment organisation—placed nanotechnology on the political agenda in 2004. Additionally, the government asked the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences to draft a position paper on nanotechnology. Based on that report and an extensive report of the national Health Council, the government published a green paper on nanotechnology in 2006.

This green paper stated three challenges. The first was the national research agenda of 2005, which focused on basic science in materials and electronics, and was broadened with medicine, energy, and water filtration. These application areas were expected to contribute to beneficial public goals. Second, the possible risks of nanomaterials were positioned as an important research and policy topic. Finally, an inventory of ethical and social issues were called for to feed into the setup of a national dialogue about nanotechnology. An interdepartmental policy group was set up to develop the green paper into the Dutch Action Plan on Nanotechnology, which was finalized in 2008.

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