NANOTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH TAKING ROOT IN NUEVO LEON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MONTERREY 000456 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT PASS OES/SAT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EFIN EIND EINT EINV PGOV TSPL MX SUBJECT: NANOTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH TAKING ROOT IN NUEVO LEON REF: Subj: Reftel: A) 2007 Monterrey 783 B) 2008 Monterrey 306 MONTERREY 00000456 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Nuevo Leon's Nanotechnology Incubator, the state's newest addition to its nanotechnology infrastructure, is nearing completion and promises to provide pilot scale production facilities to multiple institutes working together to further nanotechnology initiatives in northeastern Mexico. Along with the Monterrey branch of the Center of Investigation in Advanced Materials (CIMAV),this incubator will provide a locus for nanotechnology research in Nuevo Leon. While progress in this field appears to be slow, it is steady, and more opportunities for bilateral collaboration cooperation may become available in the near future. Nevertheless, Nuevo Leon's short-term vision for the project may be more than it can deliver. End summary. ¶2. (U) In September, former Governor Jose Natividad Gonzalez Paras unveiled Nuevo Leon's new "Nanotechnology Incubator" to American and European scientists during the "Nano Forum Monterrey; Industrial Applications of Nanotechnology" event. The convention, hosted by a consortium of Nuevo Leon public and private research institutions, took place at Monterrey's Research and Technological Innovation Park (PIIT),where the Nanotechnology Incubator is situated. PIIT Brings Together Multiple Players -------------- ¶3. (U) While the Nanotechnology Incubator was - and remains - unoccupied and incomplete, its inauguration allowed Gonzalez Paras the opportunity to showcase the PIIT, arguably his administration's greatest achievement towards establishing Monterrey as an "International City of Knowledge" and expanding Nuevo Leon's technology infrastructure. The inauguration also allowed Gonzalez Paras to showcase the progress that his state has made in developing other nanotechnology research facilities and increasing coordination among academic, government, and commercial entities working in that field. For example, within the PIIT itself, the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon (UANL), the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM),the University of Arizona (UA),the firms Sigma Alimentos and CYDSA, and multiple divisions of the XIGNUX Group are establishing facilities that will all have assets dedicated to nanotechnology research. Significantly, Mexico's flagship nanotechnology research institute, the Center of Investigation in Advanced Materials (CIMAV),has already established its Monterrey branch at the PIIT. The CIMAV branch serves as the anchor for Nuevo Leon's growing nanotechnology cluster, which includes (in addition to the above noted institutions) approximately 20 more private firms. CIMAV Monterrey Up and Running -------------- ¶4. (SBU) CIMAV Monterrey is currently staffed with 12 research scientists with specialties ranging from polymers and compound materials, to surface and interface analyses, computational chemistry, and material and theoretical physics. Dr. Jesus Gonzalez Hernandez, CIMAV General Director, told local media that he expects the center to have approximately 100 scientists by 2012, supported by an equal number of technicians along with administrative staff. The lab is well equipped, including cathode erosion deposit equipment, an X-ray microfluorescence spectrometer, focalized ion beam equipment, two X-ray difractometers, and various classes of scanning electron microscopes. According to Gonzalez, the Monterrey branch is currently focused on ceramic, metallic, and compound materials, and research into alternative energy. In the long term, the team plans to work on bio-nanotechnology projects. (Note: The Chihuahua-based CIMAV, Mexico's closest equivalent to the U.S. Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT) at the Sandia National Laboratories, was established in 1994. End note) Nanotechnology Incubator Nearing Completion -------------- ¶5. (U) Econoff visited the PIIT's Nanotechnology Incubator and found that it is approximately 80% complete. The facility is a located in a small, two-story building, and will focus on the production of nanomaterials at the pilot scale. The ground floor includes laboratories equipped for the production of titanium and other metallic oxides, metallic chlorides, metals, semiconductors, and compound materials at the rate of kilograms per hour by diverse means such as physical-chemical methods, humidity treatment, and ultrasonic dispersing. The facility will use dedicated equipment to produce carbon nanotubes with a capacity also measured in kilograms per day. The incubator MONTERREY 00000456 002.2 OF 002 hosts aerosol equipment capable of applying nanoscale coats of chemical treatment to glass, plastic, metal and ceramic superficies. Realistic Goals -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Dr. Jaime Parada, Director General of Nuevo Leon's Institute of Research and Technology Transfer (I2T2),emphasized that Nuevo Leon's ambitions in the field of nanotechnology remained firmly "down to earth." Noting that Monterrey was a city whose prosperity had depended on companies that specialized in the production of materials such as steel, glass, copper, ceramics, and cement, Parada explained that local manufacturers were presently focused on developing nanotechnology for the manufacture of materials and appliances already well established within the local economy. For example, Sigma Alimentos is working to lower its costs by creating lighter packaging for its yoghurt products. Viakable, a division of the XIGNUX Group, seeks to create more efficient conductors and insulators for electrical wire. Whirlpool plans to develop better insulators to build more efficient refrigerators, and LAMOSA is investigating the possibility of imbuing ceramics with antibacterial properties. Worries about Nanotechnology? -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Parada noted that while there are some in Mexico who echo concerns expressed elsewhere regarding potential health risks or negative environmental impact, Mexico has "only just begun" in this field of research and has less understanding of nanotechnology than the U.S. He added that government agencies such as the Secretariat of the Environment (SMA),the Attorney General for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA),and the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS) have worked to educate the public about the potential benefits of nanotechnology. In Dr. Parada's opinion, more efforts in public education may be required in the future as research efforts lead to large-scale commercial application, but he is not concerned about public perception at this point. Funding Steady -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Parada did not believe that even in light of the economic crisis or the exceptional level of debt carried by the state of Nuevo Leon the new administration of Governor Rodrigo Medina would reduce its commitment to investment in the PIIT, the Nanotechnology Incubator, or the other state facilities participating in the nanotechnology cluster. He added that Governor Medina shared his predecessor's commitment to the investment in the PIIT research park. He noted that the installation of some facilities - such as the Nanotech Incubator - was behind schedule, but said that this was not attributable to reduced funding or participation on the part of the state government, but rather to delays typical to any such complicated, large scale endeavor. ¶9. (SBU) Comment: The new Nanotechnology Incubator is scheduled to be completed as early as the first quarter of 2010. At that point, Nuevo Leon will have made significant strides in establishing the research infrastructure and synergy among various sectors of the research institution to pursue nanotechnology projects in earnest. In addition to collaboration with U.S. Universities in Texas and Arizona, the PIIT has signed bilateral agreements with sister institutions in both Brazil and Spain to collaborate on nanotechnology research. Yet actual initiatives - and in particular, increases in staffing - are moving more slowly than anticipated. Until more local manufacturers become genuinely interested in higher technology products and production applications, it seems that Nuevo Leon's expectations for its project may be grander than what it can deliver in the short-term. WILLIAMSON