A decade of U.S. Federal Investments in Nanotechnology

The mission of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) is to “provide a multi-faceted framework to assure U.S. leadership in nanotechnology that will be essential to improved human health, economic well being, and national security. The NNI invests in fundamental research to further understanding of nanoscale phenomena and facilitate technology transfer.” Since 2001, the NNI budget has grown from approximately $464 million, to the $1.8 billion budget currently proposed for 2011. This budget comes on top of the 2010 budget estimated to have been also approximately $1.8 billion, as well as an additional $511 million of funding for the NNI made available through the 2009 ARRA. Cumulatively, including the proposed 2011 budget, this totals over $14 billion of federal monies targeting nanotechnology since 2001.

To date, nanotechnology is proving to be instrumental in the development of new clean energy sources, its storage, transport, and conversion. Nanotechnology is also being used in filtration systems to purify water; specifically to remove arsenic from water. In general, nanotechnology offers innovative solutions to improve the environment.

The 2011 proposed federal budget supports this original mission, while shifting initiatives to accelerate the development of basic nanoscale research into real-life applications. In this endeavor, the supplement to the 2011 budget includes funding for three “signature” initiatives that represent the leading edge of functional interagency collaboration in the budget and program planning process under the NNI, with multiple agencies working in common toward specific objectives.

1. Nanotechnology Applications for Solar Energy: $51 million
The President’s agenda calls for the development of carbon-neutral alternative energy sources to mitigate global climate change, reduce dependence on foreign oil, improve the economy, and improve the environment. The development of a solar energy infrastructure is intended to support U.S. energy independence, while also representing an unparalleled economic opportunity if the U.S. can maintain scientific and industrial leadership in this field. Today, the current rate of improvement of solar technology performance is inadequate to meet future energy needs, and the cost is often not economically competitive without subsidies. Nanotechnology provides a key to overcoming current performance barriers and substantially improving the collection and conversion of solar energy. At the nanoscale, a number of physical phenomena have been identified that can improve the collection and conversion of solar energy. The goal of this initiative is to exploit the benefits of nanotechnology by enhancing understanding of conversion and storage phenomena at the nanoscale, improving nanoscale characterization of electronic properties, and helping enable economical nanomanufacturing.