As a scientific field, nanotechnology has been around since the 1950s, when the first integrated circuits started appearing. However, it wasn’t until 1990 that nanotechnology companies started cropping up, organizing and coordinating research efforts. IBM, Intel, and other computer manufacturers have been operating for decades, but they don’t focus exclusively on nanotechnology.

Research Firms

Many nanotechnology companies focus on researching new materials. Some nanotechnology supplements already existing technologies. For example, H2Oil developed a fuel additive that helps gasoline and diesel fuels burn more completely, resulting in better gas mileage, increased engine performance, and less air pollution.

Other firms are pioneering completely new fields. QuantumSphere developed a non-platinum catalyst for use in fuel cells. Platinum is a relatively expensive material, so finding a replacement has helped reduce fuel cell costs. Even if a technology exists, like the hydrogen fuel cell, it may currently be prohibitively expensive and relatively inefficient to warrant mass market appeal. Nanotechnology companies like QuantumSphere work to improve these new technologies.

Other nanotechnology companies simply purchase licenses for existing technologies and then manufacture products. Licensing happens all the time and is especially useful as research efforts don’t overlap. Research efforts become more profitable, costs are less expensive, and breakthroughs occur more rapidly.

Areas of Study

There are about a dozen main fields of study for nanotechnology companies today including air quality, cleaning products, batteries, fuel, solar power cells, and electronics. However, nanotechnology has the potential to impact virtually every aspect of society.

For example, doctors may soon be able to deliver high level cancer drugs directly to tumors instead of harming the surrounding healthy tissue. Pharmaceuticals, university laboratories, and private research firms will all work together to research, produce, and market these new technologies. Nanotech companies have only been around for about two decades, but the scientific field is still in its infancy, and it won’t be long until many companies are considered household names.