Public Funding of Nanoscale Science and Engineering

The rush to surge ahead in the nanotechnology race has meant that several nations have strong public funding of nanoscale science and engineering (NSE), the key element of nanotechnology, which is a wider term that also includes the implications of the emerging technology. However, the vast majority of funding in nanotechnology, both public and private, is geared toward NSE.

By the end of 2008, nearly $40 billion had been invested by governments in nanotechnology research. Total global funding in 2008 increased 15 percent to $18.2 billion from $15.8 billion in 2007. And in 2009 alone, global government funding of nanotechnologies hit $9.75 billion. There was a period of explosive growth from 2004 to 2009 when funding increased by 130 percent, yet this slowed down to a mere 9.3 per cent increase from 2008 to 2012. However, in absolute terms funding increased dramatically. From 2001 to 2010, funding for nanotechnology in the United States went from $464 million to $1.6 billion. In 2009, the combined European Union (EU) member states spent 27 percent of global nanotechnology funding, Russia spent 23 percent, outspending the United States (19 percent) and Japan (12 percent). From 2003 to 2008, total nanotech funding in the United States grew at a compound annual growth rate of 18 percent, while funding in the rest of the world grew at 27 percent annually. Asia, as a region, now invests more than the United States, totaling $6.6 billion in 2008. Of the Asian total, Japan leads with $4.7 billion in research and development (R&D) funding, along with growing contributions from China, South Korea, and other countries.

Nevertheless, in absolute terms, the United States spends more than any other country on nanotechnology research. The U.S. share of the 2008 total was $5.7 billion, up 9 percent from the $5.2 billion that the government, corporations, and venture capitalists invested in nanotechnology in 2007. Government funding in 2008 was 46 percent of total funding, an increase of 16 percent from 2007 levels. In 2009, the $ 5.7 billion invested included $1.9 billion from federal and state governments—$2.7 billion in corporate R&D, and $1.0 billion in venture capital investments, and there is considerable funding at the state level. Around 25 U.S. states have their own nanotechnology programs, and several states take advantage of NNI-supported research by stressing research and development that seeks to increase state and regional job creation by the private sector.

Governments and industry are using nanotechnology in areas as diverse as military technology, better consumer products, oil and gas exploration, and healthcare. There has also been a shift in global patterns of nanotechnology funding. Science and technology funding in Europe has been steadily rising for the past decade in order to attain a 3 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) R&D spending. In 2004, the three major economic regions—the EU, Japan, and the United States, who together made up 85 percent of global R&D spending—dominated government funding in nanotechnology. By 2009, they contributed only 58 percent of global spending, and is predicted to shrink still further (though not in monetary terms), reflecting the emergence of countries such as China and Russia as major nanotechnology players.

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