The scientific community generally believes that nanotechnology is the main engine of economic growth in 2 1 century, and its role can dwarf the impact of microelectronics technology on the world in the second half of the 20th century. Nanotechnology will bring revolutionary changes to medical treatment, manufacturing, materials and information and communication industries. Therefore, in recent years, nanotechnology has been greatly favored by all countries in the world, especially developed countries, and has triggered increasingly fierce competition.
First of all, countries are competing to launch strategies and plans for the development of nanotechnology.
Because nanotechnology is of great significance to the country's future economic and social development and national defense security, all countries (regions) in the world took the research and development of nanotechnology as the main driving force of technological innovation in 2 1 century, and successively formulated development strategies and plans to guide and promote the development of nanotechnology in their own countries. At present, more than 50 countries in the world have formulated national nanotechnology plans. Although some countries do not have a special nanotechnology plan, other plans usually include nanotechnology-related research and development.
(A) the developed countries and regions are ambitious
As we all know, in order to seize the opportunity of nanotechnology, the United States took the lead in formulating the national nanotechnology plan (NNI) as early as 2000, aiming at integrating the strength of federal agencies and strengthening their coordination in developing nano-scale science, engineering and technology. In June 2003, 165438+ 10, the US Congress passed the 2 1 century nanotechnology research and development bill, which indicates that nanotechnology has become a major federal research and development plan, from basic research and applied research to research centers, infrastructure establishment and personnel training.
The Japanese government regards nanotechnology as the key to Japan's economic revival. The Second Basic Plan for Science and Technology regards life science, information and communication, environmental technology and nanotechnology as four key research and development fields, and has formulated a number of measures to ensure the implementation of strategic resources (talents, funds and equipment) needed in these fields. Later, Japanese scientific and technological circles thoroughly implemented this policy, actively promoted research and development from basic to practical, and focused on promoting research and development that can effectively promote economic development and strengthen international competitiveness.
The sixth framework plan implemented by the European Union from 2002 to 2007 also paid unprecedented attention to nanotechnology. The plan regards nanotechnology as the top priority, and 654.38+0.3 billion euros is devoted to the research of nanotechnology and nanotechnology, knowledge-based multifunctional materials, new production technologies and equipment. The European Commission is also trying to formulate a European nanotechnology strategy, and has identified five key measures to promote the development of nanotechnology in Europe: increasing R&D investment and forming momentum; Strengthen research and development infrastructure; Expand talent resources in terms of quality and quantity; Attach importance to industrial innovation and transform knowledge into products and services; Consider social factors, seek advantages and avoid risks. In addition, most EU countries, including Germany, France, Ireland and Britain, have also made their own nanotechnology research and development plans.
(b) The newly industrialized economies are targeting opportunities.
Realizing that nanotechnology will bring great influence to human society, South Korea, China, Taiwan Province Province and other newly industrialized economies have also formulated nanotechnology development strategies in order to maintain their competitive advantages. In 20001year, the Korean government formulated the nanotechnology promotion plan 10, and in 2002, it promulgated a new law to promote the development of nanotechnology, followed by the implementation rules for the development of nanotechnology in 2003. The policy goal of the Korean government is to integrate the three main technical fields of information technology, biotechnology and nanotechnology in order to improve the level of cutting-edge technology and basic technology; By the end of the 20 10 plan, South Korea's nanotechnology research and development will reach the level of leading countries such as the United States and Japan and enter the top five in the world.
Since 1999, Taiwan Province Province of China has successively formulated advanced research plans for nanomaterials and research plans for nanotechnology. These plans are based on the construction of talents and core facilities, aiming at "academic excellence" and "industrialization of nanotechnology", aiming at leading the development of knowledge economy in Taiwan Province Province and establishing industrial competitive advantages.
(3) Developing countries strive to catch up.
In order to catch up with the development momentum of nanotechnology in developed countries, developing countries with strong comprehensive national strength and scientific and technological strength have also formulated their own nanotechnology development strategies. In July, 20001,the government of China issued the National Outline of Nanotechnology Development, and successively established the National Nanotechnology Guidance and Coordination Committee, the National Nanoscience Center and the Nanotechnology Professional Committee. At present, the Outline of the National Medium-and Long-term Science and Technology Development Plan being formulated will clarify the development roadmap of nanotechnology in China and determine the current and medium-and long-term R&D tasks in China, so as to guide and coordinate at the national level, concentrate our efforts, give play to our advantages, and strive for important breakthroughs in several aspects. In view of the fact that the most likely technological wave in the future is nanotechnology, South Africa's Ministry of Science and Technology is formulating a national nanotechnology strategy, which is expected to be implemented in 2005. India has also strengthened the research and development of nanotechnology with broad application prospects in the field of materials science by increasing support for scientific research institutions and projects engaged in materials science research.
Second, the investment in nanotechnology research and development has been rising all the way.
Nanotechnology has formed an international R&D craze. At present, both rich industrialized countries and wealth-hungry industrialized countries are investing huge amounts of money in the fields of nano-science, technology and engineering, and the investment is still increasing rapidly. According to a report of the European Union in May 2004, in the past 10 years, the world public investment increased from about 400 million euros in 1997 to more than 3 billion euros at present. Private funds for nanotechnology research are estimated at 2 billion euros. This shows that the global investment in nanotechnology research and development has reached 5 billion euros every year.
The United States has invested the most in nanotechnology. In the past four years, the federal government's research and development funds for nanotechnology increased from $220 million in 2000 to $750 million in 2003, and will increase to $982 million in 2005. More importantly, according to the "2 1 Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Law", the federal government will invest $3.7 billion in the nanotechnology plan in fiscal year 2005-2008, and this does not include the funds that the Ministry of National Defense and other departments will use for nanotechnology research and development.
Japan is now the second largest investor in nanotechnology, after the United States. Japan began to support nanotechnology research as early as 1980s. In recent years, the investment in nanotechnology has increased rapidly, from $400 million in 200/kloc-0 to nearly $800 million in 2003, and will increase by 20% in 2004.
In Europe, according to the Sixth Framework Plan, the EU's annual funding for nanotechnology is about 750 million US dollars, and it is estimated that it can reach 9150,000 US dollars. It is also estimated that the total investment of EU countries and the EU in nanotechnology research may be twice or even higher than that of the United States.
China predicts that the central government's expenditure on nanotechnology research will reach about $240 million in the next five years; In addition, local governments will also spend 240 million to 360 million US dollars. Taiwan Province Province of China plans to invest 600 million US dollars in nanotechnology-related fields from 2002 to 2007, with a steady growth every year, reaching an average of 654.38 billion US dollars per year. South Korea's annual investment in nanotechnology is estimated to be about $6,543.8+$45 million, while Singapore's is about $370 million.
In terms of per capita public expenditure on nanotechnology, EU-25 countries are 2.4 euros, the United States is 3.7 euros, and Japan is 6.2 euros. According to the plan, the public investment in nanotechnology research and development in the United States increased to 5 euros per capita in 2006 and 8 euros per capita in Japan in 2004, so the gap between the EU, the United States and Japan tends to increase. The proportion of public * * * nano-investment in GDP is: 0.0 1% in EU, 0.0 1% in USA and 0.02% in Japan.
In addition, according to an annual report devoted to the research of nanotechnology industry released by Lux Information Company in 2004, many private enterprises have also rapidly increased their investment in nanotechnology. The investment of American companies in this field is about $654.38+0.7 billion, accounting for 46% of the global private sector's $3.8 billion investment in nanotechnology. Enterprises in Asia will invest US$ 654.38+04 billion, accounting for 36%. European private institutions will invest 650 million US dollars, accounting for 17%. Because of this level of investment, innovation based on nanotechnology is bound to come.
Third, all countries in the world have their own advantages in developing nanotechnology.
Compared with other nanotechnology powers, although the United States has certain advantages, it has not yet decided the outcome.
(1) Japan, Germany and China are on a par in nanotechnology papers.
According to the statistical results of China Institute of Science and Technology Information on nano-papers, from 2000 to 2002, 40,370 nano-research papers were included in Science Citation Index (SCI). The number of nano-research papers has increased year by year, reaching 30.22% of 200 1 and 8.26% of 20021respectively.
From 2000 to 2002, the United States was ahead of other countries by a large margin, and the cumulative number of papers in three years exceeded 10000, accounting for almost 30% of all papers. Japanese edition (12.76%), Germany (1 1.28%), China (10.64%) and France (7.89%) followed closely, with the total number of papers exceeding 3,000. Moreover, from 2000 to 2002, the annual output of nano-papers in the above five countries mostly exceeded 1000, making them the countries with the most active nano-research and the strongest nano-research strength. China's growth rate is the most prominent. In 2000, the proportion of nano-papers in China was more than 2 percentage points behind that in Germany. By 2002, it had surpassed Germany and ranked third in the world, close to Japan.
After the above five countries, Britain, Russia, Italy, South Korea and Spain published more papers. In three years, the total number of papers in each country exceeded 1000, and the number of papers ranked first in 10 every year. These five countries can be listed as active countries in nano-research.
In addition, if the EU countries as a whole, the number of papers will exceed 36%, higher than the United States (29.46%).