Austria's Schizophrenic Approach to Nanotechnology

UNCLAS VIENNA 000805

SIPDIS, SENSITIVE

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TAGS: TSPL TPHY TBIO ETRD EAGR OSCI TNGD
SUBJECT: Austria's Schizophrenic Approach to Nanotechnology


1. (U) SUMMARY: The Austrian government is investing heavily in
nanotechnology -- as part of a well-funded campaign to regain
leadership in science and research -- but given Austria's poor track
record in public acceptance of new technologies (including nuclear
energy and green biotech),the GoA fears alarmism could undermine
its efforts. To head off potential problems, the GoA has created a
"Nano Initiative" to fund research and a "Nano Trust" which aims to
manage risk issues surrounding nanotechnology. Despite this good
start, the GoA's strategy is being tested by pressure groups who
want a nano-labeling requirement for food, animal feed and cosmetics
by late 2009 or early 2010. END SUMMARY.

Comparative Advantage
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2. (U) The Austrian science policy community has jumped onto the
nanotechnology bandwagon with enthusiasm. While a catch-all term,
Austrians see nanotechnology as a useful rallying point for more
research funding. GoA policymakers believe Austria can be a leader
on nanotechnology, given the country's strong foundation in the
material sciences. In addition, nanotechnology is not seen as "big"
science requiring huge investment by government and industry but
rather as a field where smaller industries and more targeted
government funding can bring results. This perceived comparative
advantage led the GoA to set up the Nano Initiative in 2003 and the
Nano Trust in 2007.

"Nano Initiative" and R&D Funding
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3. (U) The Nano Initiative is managed by the Austrian Research
Promotion Agency (FFG) and has an annual budget of about EUR 10
million (generous by Austrian standards). According to Nano
Initiative head Dr. Margit Haas, FFG typically funds nano-research
via three-year contracts of EUR 2-5 million per research "cluster"
(meaning consortium of companies, R&D firms and academia working on
related smaller projects). FFG funds 60-80% of the total cost of
each research project. So far, FFG has funded nine clusters in the
following areas:
- Nanocomposites
- Photonic nanotechnology
- Photocatalytic nano-layers
- Organic sensors and opto-electronics
- Nano-coatings (diamond, tri-biological, and active coatings)
- Nano-imprint lithography
- Nano-materials for drug targeting, release and imaging


4. (U) FFG also bestows four "Nano Awards" each year (entitled
"nanoBusiness", "nanoResearch", "nanoSociety" and "nanoYouth"),
valued both as prize money and for prestige, and often a precursor
to getting EU Framework grants. (FFG's promotion efforts have gone
so far as to include supporting "Nano Camps" for teens.) Because its
focus is on relatively near-market R&D, the Nano Initiative has
continued to receive strong support from the GoA despite recent
budgetary problems with basic R&D more generally. More information
is available in English at www.nanoinitiative.at.


5. (U) The GoA also supports basic research in the nano-sciences
through its traditional funding agency, the Austrian Science Fund
(FWF). The FWF provides grants up to EUR 84,000 directly to
individuals doing basic research; there are 132 such grants in
nanotechnology (112 in physics, 20 in biology). Details on
individual grants are available in English at
http://www.fwf.ac.at/en/projects/projekt_such e.html.

The Nano Trust and Risk Dialogue
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6. (SBU) The GoA set up the Nano Trust within its Institute of
Technology Assessment in 2007 as a three-year project to address
risk assessment and risk communication. The GoA took this proactive
stance because it did not want to face a repeat of the public outcry
surrounding nuclear power (in the 1970s) and agricultural
biotechnology (since the 1990s). In both cases, fervent public
protests drove the government to ban each technology in Austria and
lobby against acceptance in the European Union. According to Ulrike
Felt from the University of Vienna, some policymakers now feel that
green biotechnology in particular was "mishandled" and that the GoA
should educate and engage the public earlier in the governance
process. She also predicted that nanotechnology would be difficult
to regulate because it is not really a single technology, but rather
a group of divergent technologies, and as such does not fit the
traditional model of regulation and control.


7. (U) The Nano Trust's responsibilities include:
-- evaluating R&D projects with regard to safety issues;
-- encouraging research on the risks associated with nanotechnology,
including any ethical/legal/societal implications; and
-- opening a dialogue with the public about potential risks.
However, the Nano Trust has thus far limited its public outreach to
discussions with scientists and key stakeholders; it does not in
fact foresee engaging the public directly in a risk debate. (More
information about the Nano Trust is available in English at
www.nanotrust.at).

Limited Public Involvement
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8. (U) A public debate on nanotechnology has not yet taken off in
Austria. Media articles appear from time to time in newspaper
science sections, and national ORF radio broadcast a series of four
half-hour features in 2007. The Nano Trust has kept the risk
debate largely behind closed doors; its working groups include the
relevant ministries, the consumer protection agency, the Labor
Chamber, the Economic Chamber, and a handful of NGOs (e.g., Global
2000/Friends of the Earth). NGOs are assisting the Nano Trust in
developing a Nano Action Plan as a guideline for directing and
implementing the GoA's future nano-research. They are also the
moving force behind nano-labeling plans (see below).


9. (U) The GoA hopes to set up an online public discussion forum on
potential risks, to be managed by a consumer protection agency such
as the Austrian VKI. However, once the nanotechnology debate hits
the public arena, there is a danger that Austrian media -- most of
all its mass-circulation tabloids -- will play up potential risks
(as with nuclear and GMO issues) and endorse a broad "no" to
nanotechnology, in particular anything potentially affecting
human/animal health including food, feed, and beauty products.
Regulators seem to recognize that a coordinated public information
campaign is needed, but have not taken decisive steps in that
direction.

Austria Could be a First-Mover on Nano-Labeling
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10. (U) Dr Michael Nentwich, Director of the Institute of Technology
Assessment and the Nano Trust, told us that Austria will probably
institute either voluntary or mandatory labeling for nano-materials
in food, animal feed and cosmetic products soon. (NOTE: the GoA has
already funded a project to identify nano-materials in food and
cosmetics.) The GoA also strongly supported the nano-labeling
position adopted by the European Parliament in April 2009. However,
as the Nano Trust website points out, it will be difficult to
regulate nano-materials in food because most food components are
already nano-structured and it is hard to distinguish between those
that occur naturally and those that are man-made.

COMMENT
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10. (SBU) As Austria moves towards "nano-labeling" and perhaps
"nano-free" labels -- either domestically, or in support of EU-level
efforts -- we will closely monitor implications for U.S. producers.
We understand that one potential impact is on animal feed, where
nano-additives to reduce moisture/mold are starting to appear (NOTE:
30-40% of Austria's soybean feed comes from the U.S. and the rest
mostly from South America). Ready-to-eat meals (a growing import
from the U.S.) and cosmetics represent another potential trade
impacts. The key question is whether the Austrian media and public
will view nanotechnology as a step forward in material sciences and
electronics (i.e. essentially neutral) or as a dangerous
life-altering technology as with nuclear power and transgenic food.
END COMMENT.

HOH