The annual sales value of local nano products are projected to increase to RM500m this year 

by AUFA MARDHIAH 

NANOTECHNOLOGY, a concept first described by physicist Richard Feynman in 1959, involves creating machines at the molecular level. In 1974, Japanese scientist Norio Taniguchi defined nanotechnology as the processing of materials by one atom or one molecule. 

Nanotechnology gained public attention in the early 2000s, leading to the development of commercial applications. Malaysia began exploring nanotechnology in 2005 as part of the 8th Malaysia Plan (8MP) under the purview of the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (Mosti), and in 2006, the National Nanotechnology Initiatives of Malaysia was launched. The National Nanotechnology Centre, formerly known as the National Nanotechnology Directorate, was founded in 2010. 

The NanoMalaysia programme was launched to develop nanotechnology in Malaysia. In 2011, NanoMalaysia Bhd (NMB) was established to commercialise nanotechnology. The Malaysia Nanotechnology Industrial Group (MNIG) was formed in 2014, leading to the National Nanotechnology Policy and Strategy 2021-2030. The MNIG was launched in 2022 on the National Malaysia Nano programme. 

On Feb 17, 2023, a committee composed of industry leaders and entrepreneurs — a potent mix of people in academia and private sector business who are passionate about nanotechnology and have built up a long working relationship with NMB — was formed. As such, MNIG is designed to complement NanoMalaysia’s ongoing effort to re-develop Malaysia’s industry powered by nanotechnology solutions. 

“As Malaysia’s first and only nanotechnology industrial group, MNIG strives to collaborate to be a collective voice and a network of businesses that can operate far more efficiently with all stakeholders. To achieve that, active members and stakeholders are imperative,” Mosti Minister Chang Lih Kang told The Malaysian Reserve (TMR). 

He said MNIG is in the process of recruiting members and welcomes all companies and individuals who share the same vision and mission to be part of the group. 

The minister added that MNIG, as a medium for nanotechnology industry players, has reduced the nanotechnology ecosystem gap in the country and is targeting to be the best platform towards the involvement of more industries, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and local innovation ecosystem players in the field of nanotechnology. 

Chang, who is also NMB advisor, believes that the establishment of industrial grouping has helped the nanotechnology industry in Malaysia to be at the regional level by taking the opportunity of the development of the Asia Pacific nanotechnology market, which is projected to reach more than US$2.6 trillion (RM11.6 trillion) in 2025. 

“The contribution of SMEs in the nano-technology industry has a high potential for the national economy, involving more than 900 nano products in the Malaysian market worth RM381.8 million in 2020. 

“Concurrently, the annual sales value of local nano products that have obtained Nano-Verify certification has increased to RM441.9 million. It is projected to continue to increase to RM500 million this year,” Chang added. 

NanoVerify certification is Malaysia’s first and only nano certification programme by NanoMalaysia fully owned subsidiary NanoVerify Sdn Bhd. The certification programme has received recognition and acceptance from the Taiwan Nanotechnology Industry Association. 

Hence, the minister noted that all nano-technology stakeholders in the quintuple helix (including university researchers and academia actively doing research and development [R&D] in nanotechnology), industry players, government, society/community and environment will benefit from joining MNIG. 

In addition, he added that MNIG succeeded in bringing local innovators into the global market, saying that new discoveries in nanotechnology by local researchers have led to various innovations that the world currently needs, citing the nanofluid technology in nanocoating. 

“Passive cooling technology through nanocoating has shown a great demand in mitigating climate change. Local innovators involved in passive cooling have received great demand to enter the global market, especially in countries with carbon taxing and trading implementation,” he said. 

NanoVerify Sdn Bhd, a NanoMalaysia subsidiary responsible for the certification of nanotechnology products in Malaysia, has played a “significant role” in ensuring local innovators with nanotechnology compliance and standards following ISO/ TC 229 Nanotechnologies, he added. 

Chang also believed that the knowledge and technology partnership is essential to ensure the way forward of the country’s nanotechnology industry, as nanotechnology is budding in Malaysia. 

Nanotechnology can lead to many innovative new technologies for Malaysia across various fields including agriculture, healthcare, IT, energy production and utilisation, homeland security and national defence, biotechnology, food and agriculture, aerospace, materials manufacturing and environmental improvement. 

“MNIG aims to make Malaysia one of the strongest key players in nanotechnology. With various discoveries in nanotechnology research in the country and a strong platform synergised by MNIG, we believe we can elevate Malaysia’s innovation index to greater heights,” he further added. 

Future of RE 

Meanwhile, Xiamen University Malaysia (XMUM) has participated in the Biomass Innovation Circular Economy Programme (BICEP) as one of the stakeholders involved in the development of Malaysia’s nanotechnology industry. 

Transitioning to a circular economy is one of the core priorities under the 12MP and Mosti’s main 2023 initiatives, and BICEP is a specific government effort targeted at manufacturing value-advanced nanomaterials from agricultural biomass waste.

Prof Dr Ong Wee Jun from XMUM’s Centre of Excellence for NaNo Energy and Catalysis Technology said BICEP could produce value-added nano-scale advanced materials with applications in renewable energy (RE) and more through the valorisation process of waste biomass that are widely available in Malaysia.

On Feb 16, 2023, XMUM inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NMB and NanoQuartz Sdn Bhd under BICEP to summarise and accelerate Malaysia’s economic prospects. 

Ong added that the objective of the project is to produce commercial-scale high-quality graphene and green hydrogen from biogas using the atmospheric pressure non-thermal processing technique of microwave plasma. 

“It also aimed to nurture future young talents by involving several postgraduate students in this research project for transitioning Malaysia into a knowledge-centric economy moving towards the direction of sustainable energy. 

“Currently, our team is making progress on the project through the ongoing tasks of simulation and design, development of the microwave plasma system and procurement of necessary materials and equipment. The as-produced graphene will be used in energy and manufacturing applications in the later phase of BICEP,” he told TMR. 

Nanotech Integration 

Where does nanotech fit in? nanoSkunkWorkX Sdn Bhd (nSWX) CEO and co-founder Iqbal Shamsul opined that nanotech enables the existing industries as opposed to being a separate industry by itself. 

He cited a case where Intel Corp fits the definition of a nanotechnology company given that it makes technology nodes down to the nanometre scale in its products. The same goes for Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE with the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines that use nano lipids to encapsulate the messenger RNA contents of the vaccine, paints that contain graphene for improved durability in challenging environments, and condoms enhanced with graphene to increase its durability. 

“All of them are generally considered separate industries for a good reason — completely different markets; science, technology, engineering and mathematics expertise; risk-reward profiles and varying capital; infrastructure and regulatory requirements. Hence, any attempt to shoe-horn them all into a single monolithic ‘nanotech’ industry will fail and waste a lot of effort,” he told TMR. 

On the players’ awareness regarding Mosti’s programmes for nanotech development, Iqbal said there are several agencies and bodies in and around Mosti that purportedly involve nanotechnology. However, he said the outcomes have been poor due to the lack of depth of expertise, as well as breadth of reach to be effective in so many domains. 

“Instead, we should ask about Mosti’s nanotech programmes which have been in operation for at least a decade and have cost millions (at the very least). Are there any successful ‘unicorn’ businesses? Or do game-changing products or services resulting directly from such efforts? Has anyone benefitted from Mosti’s programmes? 

“Many people and businesses have received assistance but have they become successful, sustainable and job-creating enterprises? Have any of these agencies been subjected to appropriate examination and accountability for their outcomes, good or bad? Have the Public Accounts Committee or anybody outside of the ministries involved examined their investments, spending and activities to determine whether they are justified in their existence?” he asked. 

Furthermore, he also noted that nSWX has applied and has also been invited to multiple initiatives but did not proceed for various reasons. 

“In many cases, the programmes are not responsive to market demands. For example, we sought financing to respond to Covid-19 but agencies (in mid-2020) assumed Covid would be ‘over in six months’ and encouraged us to focus on other goods despite the fact that the Health Ministry wanted us to work on Covid. 

“Aside from that, there have been instances where we won the grants but the amounts were insufficient and the rigidity, as well as the bureaucratic nature of grant management, made it unprofitable. To focus on applying for and managing government funds, we would have required to create an entirely new administrative infrastructure,” he said. 

Govt Must Create Good Ecosystem

Iqbal also highlighted elements of the old system of corruption and unethical practices in the government system. 

“In one extreme case, an organisation sought for a grant from a separate ministry (not Mosti) on our behalf, with no obligation to repay. 

“However, in exchange for getting that grant for us, we were expected to not only complete the standard R&D milestones, but also to pay the agency (rather than the funding ministry) the full grant money plus additional costs, as well as relinquish our intellectual property to that agency until repayment is made. 

“All of a sudden, a government organisation that was intended to be assisting nano-tech players turned into a nanotech loan shark or Ah Long (predatory lender). This has taken many nanotech players off guard, which is both sad and infuriating,” he said, emphasising that the ministry in question is not Mosti. 

Moving forward, Iqbal said nanotechnology is already present and growing, and questioned the readiness of the government and its agencies to accommodate, support and nurture the budding industry. 

“Looking at successful innovation ecosystems like Silicon Valley over many decades, it’s evident that the government plays a significant role in supporting mission-driven R&D to solve current national concerns. The government not only sets the R&D agenda, but it is also a crucial R&D collaborator, sponsor and, most importantly, user of technology. 

“Many of the early Silicon Valley companies came from government requirements in aerospace and defence for computation, electronic warfare, space race and many other things,” he said. 

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• This article first appeared in The Malaysian Reserve weekly print edition