Ownage!http://english.vietnamnet.vn/reports/2007/05/692598/
Vietnam exports hi-tech products
VietNamNet Bridge – R&D Development in the HCM City Hi-tech Park has successfully produced 0.2kg carbon nano tubes with Vietnamese materials and technology.
According to Dr. Nguyen Chanh Khe, Director of the R&D Centre, representatives of many leading world hi-tech companies such as CitiGen, Tupperware and AMD from the US, ULVAC of Japan, CISRO of Australia, CEA-LETTI of France and AIXTRON of Germany have regularly visited this year to discuss cooperation with the centre.
The International Association of Nano Technology (IAN), which receives funding from the Office of President G. Bush, has called from the US everyday to propose cooperation with the centre.
Competition in hi-tech field
Many famous hi-tech firms in the world want to buy the carbon nano tube from the R&D Centre.
This material is often used in the covers of spacecraft and anti-terrorism weapons. Currently only America, Japan and some European countries can manufacture this product in modest volumes. The US can only produce 10kg of carbon nano tube a year.
Vietnam’s R&D Centre on April 30, 2007 produced the first 0.2kg of raw carbon nano tube using local materials. The centre plans to produce around 4-5kg of this material this July, using its own technology, which has been registered for copyright protection in the US.
One kilogram of carbon nano tube is now priced at between US$100,000 and $800,000 in the world market. However, Dr. Khe said that Vietnam’s nano tube would be sold at a lower price though the quality is high. Thus, many contracts worth millions of US dollars are possible.
Besides the carbon nano tube, the fuel battery is also a hi-tech product of Vietnam that is attracting the attention of foreign customers. This kind of battery is forecast to replace kerosene, which is becoming exhausted and causes environment pollution.
The R&D Centre’s fuel battery is produced by liquid nano and carbon nano tube in Y form, which can operate at normal temperature, is cheaper, and has a higher capacity than the US’ Nafion battery. Many US companies want to cooperate with the centre to commercialise this product.
Impressing the world
The R&D Centre is negotiating a contract with IAN and AMD, the latter of which is a rival of Intel in manufacturing chipsets.
The centre has been invited to report on its achievements in nano technology at the Nanotech 2007 workshop in Santa Clara, the US this May and the Carbon Conferences in Washington this July.
“Vietnam impressed the world when professor Tran Dai Nghia manufactured Bazookas, DKZ guns in the resistance war against the French from 1945-1954. In the Vietnam War, Vietnam shot down B52 aircrafts with improved Sam rockets. Nowadays, in the hi-tech war, Vietnam needs to continue impressing the world with its hi-tech achievements,” said Dr. Khe.
The wish of Dr Khe and his collaborators has been supported as HCM City authorities have decided to invest VND190 billion (US$11.875 million) in two nano technology and semiconductor laboratories in the HCM City Hi-tech Park.
According to Dr. Khe, from the first kilos of nano tube, he and his collaborators will produce up to 20kg by late 2007 to serve the market.