The future is nano

From little things, big things grow: Aussie developments in nanotechnology may well breathe life back into the textiles industry. Melissa Gulbin reports.

Innovation, innovation, innovation. It's the rallying mantra of the textiles, clothing and footwear industry; the magic word which promises to pull us out from the doldrums.

Of course actions speak louder than words, and the recent commercial success of Australian technical textiles, spurred by local innovations in nanotechnology, trumpets loudest of all. In fact, some industry insiders suggest that Australia is currently at the crossroads of a manufacturing renaissance, spurred by a research and development boom in fibres and fabrics.

At The Australian TCF Technology Network 2008 Annual Conference 'Future Fibre Materials ... Renaissance Through Innovation', Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr said Australia was poised to adopt a German manufacturing model, where technical textiles constituted 40 per cent of the country's total textile production.

At the heart of technical textile innovation is nanotechnology, the control of matter on an atomic and molecular scale. A great local example of fabric that applies a number of nanotech features is Bruck Textiles' new Bionic Gemini range which enables a variety of durable performance benefits including enhanced comfort, fast-drying, high visibility, UV protection, soil release as well as a newly-patented antimicrobial feature which combats harmful bacteria.

Nanotechnology has also given rise to fabric that absorbs body odours, fabric that changes colour with body heat and fabric that emits deodorant by slow release.

The future is particularly bright for two Australian nanotech patents which are set to revolutionise the growing market for high-visilbity safety and sportswear; namely EnerGlo, the glow-in-the-dark coating developed and manufactured by The Specialty Group and the fluorescent yellow nanopigment known as PNP98 developed by NanoVic and RMIT and commercialised by NanoVentures.

Aglow with success
Even though The Specialty Group's photo-luminescent EnerGlo fabric is a multi-million dollar success story, for the company's CEO Daniel Leipnik, it was an auspicious cycling accident that brought home the true value of the technology.

Leipnik was riding at night wearing his photoluminescent EnerGlo cycling jacket, in a park and where there were no street lights or car lights. "I heard someone yell and then they jumped away," recalls Leipnik. "Without the jacket there was no way they could have seen me coming. On a personal level it was very heartening to be involved with this technology."

Developed in-house with help from research partners NanoVic (now NanoVentures), The Specialty Group scientists were inspired to create EnerGlo after learning about naturally occurring "bioluminescence" in deep sea creatures. In a nutshell, EnerGlo proprietary technology enables atoms to get excited by light, moving them into a higher orbit and emitting light back as their energy output when placed in the dark. The result is the world's first glow-in-the-dark breathable fabric coating, which only requires 12 minutes of charging in natural light for three hours of luminescence.

The technology was originally conceived as a safety material. The Specialty Group was first approached by several police departments and emergency services to create illuminated clothing which did not rely on the reflection of street or car lights nor require wires or batteries.

But in a baffling about-turn, after two years of product development, the police and emergency services withdrew their interest in the technology. "Protective clothing must pass very stringent testing but as yet there are no standards established in photoluminescence," explains Leipnik of the police forces' hesitance to adopt the new material.

Far from being shelved, the EnerGlo fabric coating technology was leapt on by global brands in the snow sports arena; first by Canadian snowboarding outfitter Westbeach for the 2006/07 snowsports season. Since then kings-of-the-mountain Quiksilver International, Vaude, North Face, SOS, Insport andSprayway have clamoured to licence the use of EnerGlo in their winter collections.

As well as having the necessary capital, Leipnik says these large overseas companies tend to put a higher price on innovation and point-of-difference. "EnerGlo fabric sits well with the snowboarding culture. Not only is it a waterproof, breathable fabric which allows enthusiasts to snowboard at night, it also celebrates the goofy, the funky, the novel." And unlike the protective clothing industry, uptake of photoluminescent clothing in the active sportswear arena is not marred by Australia's standards requirements.

However Leipnik envisages a day when safety standards fall in line with overseas trends. "I just received an email from a client in South Africa who has advised that the South African Traffic Police and the South African Fire Brigade will be using EnerGlo fabrics on their safety clothing from now on after positive feedback from two years of successful use by the South African Ambulance service."

Supply of EnerGlo has kept up with international demand since 2007 when the Speciality Group invested in machinery which enables the company to churn out up to 40,000 metres of the fabric a week. In terms of research and development, The Specialty Group's latest coup is the addition of flame retardant properties to the product. "The tests have been extremely positive. EnerGlo is set to be a valuable safety feature for Fire Brigades the world over.

"There is a lot of talk about innovation in this industry. But to get that innovation out of the four walls, and to market it successfully around the world and make it into a multimillion dollar brand around the world - one that is entirely manufactured locally - that is a very special and rare thing. It makes me very proud," says Leipnik.

The Specialty Group's EnerGlo fabric: shining bright in Quicksilver product range.

Patent potential
It's not always viable, however, for Australian nanotech patents to be manufactured locally. It makes sense that world-leading patents require world-leading manufacturing infrastructure.

Such is the case with Australian nanotechnology firm NanoVentures Australia (NVA) which has just reached an agreement with lndian company Aron Universal, a leading fluorescent pigment manufacturer for commercial development of its proprietary nanopigment technology known as PNP98. The nanopigment exhibits sustained fluorescence compared to comparable commercial products and can be readily incorporated into conventional plastics, and does not leach in solvents.

NVA's predecessor, Nanotechnology Victoria Ltd (NanoVic) invested nearly $500,000 with RMIT University and Australian firm Allied Colors & Additives to develop the pigment. These Australian concerns will all benefit from a royalty on sales of the nanopigment.

NVA CEO Dr Peter Binks states: "We are very pleased that the outstanding technology developed by RMIT is to be commercialised. We are also excited to be working with Aron Universal Ltd, who has performed an exhaustive evaluation of the nanopigment over the last six months. Aron are a leader in this field, and bring world-class production, marketing and distribution capabilities to the venture."

Aron, which trades under the name Flamingo, has committed to produce, market, and distribute the pigment for use in the textile industry as well as the paper, plastics, paints, coatings, graphic arts and inks markets.

Aron managing director Dr Ashok Amin says: "We at Aron see this as an important milestone in new developments in this field. The joint venture we are finalising would develop many nanopigments and products with unique properties for various applications. Aron also plans to develop unconventional uses and applications with these new nanopigments." Watch this space.

Risky business
But the transition from idea to royalty-reaping patent is not always as smooth. In the CSIRO's submission to the review of the TCF industry in May 2008, the research body identified that nanotech innovation is very high risk. "Most Australian TCF companies are SMEs and therefore, individually, lack financial, technical and managerial resources to take on and manage the risks associated with radical innovation," it noted.

The report suggested that to overcome such risk groups of companies and researchers needed to come together in innovation clusters to identify and develop technology platforms which will provide the basis for a range of globally competitive products.

Certainly risk hasn't paid off for Melbourne company Micronisers. The Dandenong nanotech firm spent three years partnered with Deakin University developing a colourfast coating for textiles trademarked as Nanocryl, only to see the project abandoned.

Managing director Ken King regretfully states: "We have not been able to get a satisfactory performance from Nanocryl in order to provide a colourfast coating for textiles and thus have not pursued the introduction of the product to the market."

While the high risk Nanocryl venture did not pay off, the company is otherwise kicking goals with developments in UV-protective cosmetics. Certainly if Australia wants to meet Kim Carr's dream as a TCF industry built on high-end technical innovation it is better to have tried and failed than to stew in our languishing status quo.

The place to be in R&D
Victoria has earned its slogan as 'The Place To Be' when it comes to developing technical textiles. Melbourne's $56 million Advanced Manufacturing Cooperative Research Centre (AMCRC), launched in May, is the latest piece of government-funded infrastructure aimed at bridging the gap between innovative ideas and commercial success. And there is no shortage of ideas coming from the world's largest specialised fibre research facility at CSIRO Textile and Fibre Technology division as well as the Centre for Material and Fibre innovation at Deakin University.

Another recent advance towards the commercialisation of Australian nanofibre and nanopigment patents is NanoVentures Australia, a company set up in January to commercialise the nanotechnology developments made by Nanotechnology Victoria (NanoVic) since 2003. NanoVentures, which takes the place of NanoVic, seeks to raise funds to commercialise technologies, and is able to enter commercial arrangements which were not feasible under NanoVic's corporate structure. It is located in Oakleigh, and has a portfolio of 10 patents, together with a similar number of licences and design registrations.

This research and development infrastructure makes Australia well-positioned to supply innovative patents for the niche manufacturing of nanofibres to creating high-value materials for export.

According to Dr Mark Trigg, CEO of the newly-opened AMCRC, the global financial crisis is placing enormous pressure on Australian industry to re-invent itself and become internationally competitive in a changing environment through accelerated innovation and commercialisation of intellectual property. If anything, the recession is set to spur advances in nanotechnology.

Bullet-proof research
Research on the world's most promising materials in textile science - the carbon nanotube - has been spearheaded over the past few years by the Melbourne-based CSIRO Textile and Fibre Technology division.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are sub-microscopic, hollow fibres of pure carbon. To the naked eye, they look like black powder, but their true fibre nature becomes apparent under the electron microscope.
Among other exciting applications, CSIRO are exploring the use of CNTs in defensive apparel. CNTs offer extraordinary properties of strength, stiffness and lightness, set to revolutionise the construction of body armour.

Principal Research Scientist with CSIRO Materials Science & Engineering, Dr Stephen Hawkins, says currently available body armour is typically heavy, stiff and hot to wear.

"Generations of polymers and ceramics have been developed to keep pace with the threat and lessen the burden of the armour but now a new material - carbon nanotubes or CNTs - is set to move ballistic protection into new territory," he says.

CSIRO has been granted funds under the Defence Capability and Technology Demonstrator Program to demonstrate the capabilities of CNTs.