Insights

The Annual Seminar of the Tekes Functional Materials Programme arranged on 20.10.2010 in Finlandia Hall, Helsinki attracted about 200 participants representing several branches of industry and academia. The event disseminated recent research results of the Programme and provided an active networking and discussion forum for the whole Finnish materials society.

Spinverse's Managing director Pekka Koponen writes about materials technology, which is going to revolutionise several industries much in the way ICT did during the last couple of decades. The column was originally published in Kauppalehti on 19 October 2010.

Spinverse Oy has been selected to conduct a broad feasibility study for an Estonian Materials Technology Programme. Materials technology is identified as one of three strategic key technology areas in Estonia’s research and development and innovations strategy. The study was ordered by the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communication.

For cleaner world, boilers go dirty. To reduce unwanted emissions, fossil fuels are today increasingly replaced by renewable biomass. This carries to combustion process a lot of impurities like chlorine, which promotes severe boiler corrosion by a catalytic process called active oxidation. This challenge is usually approached by reducing the boiler temperature, which leads to lower efficiency, or by adding significant amounts of coal or peat to the fuel, which in turn reduce the renewable fraction and increase emissions.

A chapter in Nanotechnologies for Future Mobile Devices by Spinverse experts Tom Crawley, Laura Juvonen and Pekka Koponen "make it stand out from other overviews and reviews" according to Science Magazine. The book, which is edited by Tapani Ryhänen, Mikko Uusitalo, Olli Ikkala, and Asta Kärkkäinen, is reviewed in Science Magazine's volume 329 (17 September 2010).

The chameleon, the symbol of the Tekes Functional Materials Programme, reminds us that nature knows how to effectively make and use functional materials.

This Environmental briefing produced by Spinverse Oy and Empa outlines the social and economical relevance of nano-enabled photocatalysis, provides background information on the technology, and highlights further challenges to be addressed. The summary was produced for the ObservatoryNANO project, which is funded under FP7. The challenges in treating waste- and drinking water are dependent on the origin of the water. Problematic substances in wastewater can include organic matter and/or different trace contaminants. Industrial wastewater may additionally contain heavy loads of metals or organic compounds. In drinking water production microbe contamination needs to be addressed especially in developing countries, but also for remote locations without access to a centralized drinking water supply.

Spinverse Expert Dr. Markku Heino has co-authored two scientific papers regarding nanomaterials published just recently in the web. Both papers are based on his work at Nokia Research Center, NanoSciences lab. showing the results of the cooperation between NRC and Aalto University.

The five-year DEMAPP program, managed by Spinverse, received a positive funding decision from Tekes in June 2010. Tekes will  fund the participating organizations in the program with a maximum of 3.9 Million euros during the second year (1.6.2010-31.5.2011).