During 2007, Lux reports that nanotechnology recorded its greatest growth in the materials and manufacturing sector, which accounted for $97 billion worth of products, including the sale of coatings and composites used in automobiles and buildings. The electronics sector followed, with $37 billion generated through the sale of such products as batteries and electronic displays. Product revenue in the healthcare and life sciences sector came in third, generating $15 billion in revenue, largely from pharmaceutical applications.
According to Lux, the materials and manufacturing sector will retain its top spot through 2015, growing by 45 percent and reaching $1.8 trillion in product revenue. The electronics sector will retain second place, with revenue growing to $940 billion, an increase of about 51 percent. And third place will still be claimed by the healthcare sector, with annual nanotechnology-related product revenue of about $31 billion, a 46 percent jump from 2007.
Lux also reports that the United States produced $59 billion worth of nanotech-based products in 2007. The firm says Europe followed at $47 billion; Asia/Pacific accounted for $31 billion, and the rest of the world generated $9.4 billion. By 2015, Lux expects Europe to take the lead, generating $1.09 trillion in nanotechnology related product sales. The firm says the U.S. will come in second with $1.08 trillion, and Asia will continue to place third, with $717 billion. “Nanotech isn’t a new market or industry – it’s an enabling technology that improves many types of products,” says Jurron Bradley, senior analyst at Lux Research. “For example, you find it in coatings boosting the efficiency of automobile engines, in nano-enabled finishes protecting electronic devices, and nanoparticulate reformulations that make cholesterol-reducing drugs more effective. These innovations aren’t always visible to consumers, but they improve products and boost margins. That’s why nanomaterials’ use is only going to keep growing.”