Questions and answers

1. What is the Innovation Alliance CNT (Inno.CNT)?
2. What are the targets of Inno.CNT?
3. What projects are involved in the initiative?
4. How is Inno.CNT financed?
5. What companies and scientific institutions are behind Inno.CNT?
6. What importance does Inno.CNT have for industry and society?
7. How can companies in Germany benefit from the initiative?
8. What are carbon nanotubes (CNTs)?
9. What are the properties of carbon nanotubes?
10. How are carbon nanotubes produced?
11. What products are already made with carbon nanotubes?
12. What visionary products can be realized and what problems can be solved with carbon nanotubes in the medium term?
13. Do carbon nanotubes have a role to play in environmental protection?
14. Is the comparison between carbon nanotubes and asbestos tenable?
15. What contribution does Inno.CNT make to safety?
16. What risks exist for employees during the production of carbon nanotubes?
17. How are carbon nanotubes degraded or disposed of?
18. Can I as a consumer recognize if a product contains carbon nanotubes?

1. What is the Innovation Alliance CNT (Inno.CNT)?

The Innovation Alliance Carbon Nanotubes (Inno.CNT) is a closely networked research alliance involving around 80 reputable partners from science and industry. The CNT initiative is part of the German government's high-tech strategy and is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research under its "Materials Innovations for Industry and Society" program. The initiative consists of 18 projects.

2. What are the targets of Inno.CNT?

The aim of the initiative is to mobilize additional innovative capacity in a field of technology that is key to the competitiveness and growth of German industry – that of new materials – in order to significantly shorten the time needed for new products to find their way onto the market. It aims to make an active contribution to securing the future of Germany as a location for industrial production, as well as its jobs and the prosperity of its people. At the same time, the innovative solutions will help enhance the quality of life and the sustainability of our society – for example, by making significant contributions to solving urgent problems in the fields of environmentally friendly and climate-compatible mobility and energy supply.

3. What projects are involved in the initiative?

In all, the CNT initiative comprises 18 coordinated projects. Three of them are involved with crossover technologies and aim to develop solutions for the production, functionalization and dispersion of carbon nanotubes. Five projects are concerned with energy and the environment, five with lightweight construction and four with mobility. The last project is concerned with the crossover subjects of health, safety and quality.

4. How is Inno.CNT financed?

Around 80 million euros is needed to implement the Innovation Alliance CNT. 50 percent of this sum will be provided by the Federal German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) as part of its program "Materials Innovations for Industry and Society". The other 50 percent will be financed from funds put forward by the partners in the alliance. In addition, German companies plan to invest around 200 million euros over the next ten years to establish an efficient CNT industry.

5. What companies and scientific institutions are behind Inno.CNT?

To do justice to the importance of the subject and to mobilize additional growth forces in the industry, the Innovation Alliance CNT has brought together an exceptionally large group of around 80 partners from science and industry with acknowledged expertise in the field of carbon nanotubes in Germany. A list of the partners is given here.

6. What importance does Inno.CNT have for industry and society?

Carbon nanotubes have the potential to yield a whole number of completely new materials with superior properties. This makes it a key technology, which, as an important value-adding factor, will have an influence on many other branches of industry. The aim is to establish this lead market in Germany with Inno.CNT. Germany already plays a leading role in the field of carbon nanotubes and is strengthening this position with the Innovation Alliance CNT. Experts estimate the future market for CNT applications to be worth over one hundred billion euros, and if large sections of this market can be developed in Germany, over 100,000 new jobs can be created here in the next few years. Moreover, Inno.CNT is focused on the fields of energy and the environment, mobility and lightweight construction and, as such, the initiative will also make an active contribution to sustainable development in environmental protection, helping to improve living conditions for people all over the world and providing answers to pressing questions concerning the future.

7. How can companies in Germany benefit from the initiative?

By bundling the wealth of know-how that exists in the field of carbon nanotubes, Inno.CNT provides an outstanding information platform for all questions related to the use of CNTs in a wide range of industrial applications. Interested companies can contact members of the alliance, discuss innovative strategies for CNT applications with leading experts, and sound them out for their own company. Further information is available from the Inno.CNT information office, which can be reached by e-mail at info@inno-cnt.de or by phone at 01805/133 422.

8. What are carbon nanotubes (CNTs)?

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are microscopically small carbon cylinders that boast a number of outstanding properties. They can perhaps be pictured as a rolled-up graphite layer. Because of their specific characteristics, e.g. their enormous strength, exceptional electrical and thermal conductivity etc., CNTs have a broad range of application for which the potential has not yet been completely tapped. Carbon nanotubes can be subdivided into Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes (SWNT) and Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotubes (MWNT). The carbon tubes have a diameter of between 1 and 100 nanometers (nm), making them around 10,000 times thinner than a human hair. Their length varies between 2 and 50 micrometers (a millionth of a meter).

9. What are the properties of carbon nanotubes?

The electronic properties of carbon nanotubes are closely connected with their structure. The electrical conductivity, for example, can be metallic or semi-conductive, depending on the structure. At low temperatures, super-conducting CNTs are also possible. The mechanical properties of CNTs are particularly spectacular. Related to their weight, their specific strength is 400 times higher than that of steel or aluminum, and they are 20 times stronger than carbon fibers. For applications in the electronics industry, the current-carrying capacity and thermal conductivity of CNTs are particularly interesting. According to estimates, the current-carrying capacity of carbon nanotubes is about 1,000 times higher than that of copper wires. The thermal conductivity is about twice as high as that of diamonds – the best naturally occurring heat conductor.

10. How are carbon nanotubes produced?

There are currently three processes for producing carbon nanotubes: arc discharge, laser ablation and catalytic decomposition. The arc discharge method was what helped carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) to attract widespread attention in 1991. 1993 saw the discovery of single-wall carbon nanotubes, which can also be produced by the light arc method if catalysts are added. In 1996, a laser process was introduced for the production of single-wall carbon nanotubes. With this method, graphite is evaporated with the aid of a laser. The third possibility for producing CNTs involves the catalytic decomposition of hydrocarbons. This process offers the advantage that largely parallel carbon tubes can be produced. All three processes are now so well developed that homogenous CNTs can be produced to order.

11. What products are already made with carbon nanotubes?

The first CNT-based products are already on the market in the leisure sector. Sports equipment manufacturer Völkl, for example, has produced a tennis racket in which small quantities of CNTs are added to the plastic used for the frame and handle. Nanotubes can also be found in bicycle handlebars from Easton and golf clubs from Aldila. The Finnish ice hockey team uses sticks containing carbon nanotubes from Bayer MaterialScience. Other applications in the sports sector include bicycle helmets, skis, surfboards, baseball bats and sports shoes made of plastics containing CNTs. There also a number of CNT-based products successfully being used in industry. One example is a plastics drum with an antistatic outer coating based on Baytubes and manufactured by the firm Schütz GmbH. It is used as a high-grade transport packaging to ensure that flammable goods such as solvents and oils cannot ignite as a result of electrostatic discharge. These properties also make Baytubes interesting for fuel lines. Another example is a conductive plastic incorporating carbon nanotubes from Bayer MaterialScience that has been produced by the Ensinger company since mid-2007 and is used to manufacture parts for the outer skin of Formula 1 cars, aircraft and other vehicles.

12. What visionary products can be realized and what problems can be solved with carbon nanotubes in the medium term?

One example is the aviation industry. Modern aircraft consist of some 20-50 percent of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP). Because CFRPs can be significantly improved even further through the use of CNTs, the aviation industry will offer a number of highly attractive potential applications for carbon nanotubes in the near future. Another example is that of sustainable energy production with wind turbines. By 2030 a number of off-shore wind power plants are to be installed off Germany's coast with an output of 20,000 to 25,000 megawatts. Conditions at sea call for exceptional composite materials, in which carbon nanotubes can demonstrate their strength. When added to heavy-duty concrete, carbon nanotubes can increase its strength by a further 50 percent. This CNT-based building material is thus able to offer significantly improved earthquake protection through its elasticity.

13. Do carbon nanotubes have a role to play in environmental protection?

Innovative CNT-based materials can contribute to sustainable environmental protection, because they make vehicles and aircraft very much lighter and, as a result, save a considerable amount of energy. In addition, these modern materials can be used for the construction of highly efficient facilities for the production of renewable energy, such as innovative solar cells and offshore wind turbines, which make particularly high demands on the material from which they are made. To safeguard water supplies, too, a new kind of membrane incorporating carbon nanotubes can make an important contribution to water treatment. To realize the full potential of carbon nanotubes in practical applications, the CNT initiative is concentrating on the fields of energy and the environment, mobility and lightweight construction. In all three competence areas, these materials are expected to make a key contribution to environmental protection and energy supply.

14. Is the comparison between carbon nanotubes and asbestos tenable?

On the basis of the data currently available, it would be going too far to compare carbon nanotubes to asbestos. CNTs are a large family of different types that differ significantly in their structure, length, form, diameter, agglomerate state, surface structure etc. Each of these parameters can exert an influence on the toxicological behavior of the respective CNT. Some carbon nanotubes, which are long, stiff and needle-shaped, do have a certain formal similarity with asbestos fibers. The results of a pilot study (Poland et al.) indicate that structural parameters exert an influence on the toxicological behavior. They also show, however, that a generalization of the results is not possible. An individual evaluation of every single CNT structural model is needed to make a sound scientific assessment.

15. What contribution does Inno.CNT make to safety?

In its CarboSafe crossover project, Inno.CNT creates the conditions for appropriate risk assessment. The aim of this crossover project in Inno.CNT is to initiate measures to recognize and minimize risks and, on the basis of valid results, to make products made with CNTs safer. The basis of this project work is the development of tried and tested measuring technologies, with which the rate of release of nanoparticles in the lifecycle of CNT products can be unambiguously proven. Moreover, the CarboSafe project aims to identify the ecotoxicological potential of CNTs and to accurately estimate the risk potential by applying the measuring techniques it has developed. The know-how gathered in this project will be supplemented by a number of other studies and projects that are currently looking at safety aspects. These include, for example, the TRACER project supported by the BMBF, which provides an important basis for the CarboSafe project and thus plays an important role in the overall context of the Innovation Alliance. TRACER has been involved since 2006 with the risk assessment of CNTs along the entire value chain.

16. What risks exist for employees during the production of carbon nanotubes?

Any exposure of employees to carbon nanotubes during production and processing can be ruled out provided the individually defined occupational safety precautions are observed. A number of safety regulations are in place for the production and processing of carbon nanotubes, and as long as these regulations are adhered to, it is virtually impossible for workers to inhale CNTs during the production process, which is performed in closed systems with automatic reactors. Any off-gases are extracted and incinerated. The wearing of personal protective equipment is prescribed, and product-related safety data sheets provide detailed handling instructions for customers working with carbon nanotubes. With CNT-based products, inhalation is virtually excluded. In polymers and surface coatings, for example, the carbon nanotubes are firmly incorporated into the polymer structure.

17. How are carbon nanotubes degraded or disposed of?

Although carbon nanotubes are not biodegradable, they do not create any problems as waste. Carbon nanotubes burn completely at temperatures below 600 °C. In waste incinerators, only carbon dioxide (CO2) is released.

18. Can I as a consumer recognize if a product contains carbon nanotubes?

Not systematically. There is no labeling regulation for nanoproducts, which would be unnecessary anyway because "nano" is not a hazard characteristic. On the other hand, it is normal that a producer would want to emphasize the beneficial properties of his product and add a kind of "nano-inside" label. This is particularly true in cases where the improvement to the articles is due essentially to the properties of the carbon nanotubes, e.g. high-tech sports goods.