C2I 2019: Sustainable manufacturing at world's largest nanomaterials plant

Category: Manufacturing Technology

Winner: SHYMAN - Sustainable Hydrothermal Manufacturing of Nanomaterials

Partners: University of Nottingham with Promethean Particles and others

Category Sponsor: Mazak

Radio frequency identification (RFiD) tags are a key underpinning technology for the so-called Internet of Things.

But the high cost of producing one of the key raw materials for these tags - silver nano-particles - is holding back the full potential of the technology. University of Nottingham spin out Promethean Particles hopes to change this.

Promethean is the outcome of a consortium of 18 industry and academic partners across Europe that developed the SHYMAN project (Sustainable Hydrothermal Manufacturing of Nanomaterials) winning a €10m EU Framework 7 grant to develop a cleaner process to manufacture nanomaterials in large volumes.

These tiny particles, that can measure less than one billionth of a metre, are used in the manufacture of inorganic and organic pigments and metal nanomaterials, which are used in industrial applications including printed electronics, Metal Organic Frameworks (MOF), catalysts, healthcare and nanocomposites, including plastics and coatings.