Introduction of Fraunhofer IPA and nanocarbon as a field for future cooperation

Since their discovery carbon nanotubes (CNT) are considered as one of the major material innovations of the last decades. Their enormous versatility enable CNT to be used a vast amount of applications, such as lightweight structures, flexible electronics' and conductive composites. Fraunhofer IPA's department 670 Process Engineering of Functional Materials is workings since ten year in the field of Nano Carbon Based processes and applications. Today Nano materials and Nano objects have taken an important role within the global research activities. To assess the enormous potential of that sub micron sized materials a comprehensive knowledge about the physics and chemical properties has to be developed. However the R&D cost is tremendous and researchers as well as investors around the world feel the need for fast innovation. One way to reduce the cost of innovation is international collaboration. Fraunhofer and Fraunhofer IPA decided to intense the collaboration with Japanese Researchers and Industry and install a Fraunhofer Office in Osaka City. Within this talk the author will address the unique opportunity to set up an international collaboration based on CNT and innovate fast and efficient. Furthermore the strategic reasons of this collaboration will be explained in detail.