Case Study: NTERA
Countries Involved: Ireland, Switzerland
NTERA is a company which was set up in 1997 to develop nanotechnology applications. Initially it had a number of applications in mind but decided to concentrate on one area which it considered most promising, the development of what it now calls NanoChromics™ Displays (NCD). These use patented state-of-the-art nanotechnology to produce displays that give “ink on paper” readability with pure white or transparent backgrounds. NCD Displays offer superior optical performance and cost effectiveness over existing LCD and other new display technologies.
From the beginning NTERA had a strategy of acquiring all relevant technologies in the area of nanochromics to complement its own in-house developments in the field. This technology uses electrochemistry to make certain materials change colour when a voltage is applied. The materials are organic dyes which change from colourless to coloured on application of a voltage. Nanotechnology, the use of very tiny elements with a size of 10-9m, is what makes the technology effective. The dyes are attached to nanoparticles of a metal oxide electrode material and the electrodes have nanoporosity. By a process of in-house development and acquisition of complementary technical solutions, the company has now positioned itself to exploit several different applications as determined by the various market opportunities arising .
The company entered into two licences in 1998 one from University College Dublin and another from Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland. In addition the company later acquired four other patents which supported various aspects of the technology.
What the company acquired was basic technology which then needed development work to produce actual working display products. Since 1998, substantial R&D has been carried out and over €25m. raised in venture capital to pay for both in-house development and acquisition of technology externally and to develop the manufacturing processes for mass production of end products.
NTERA’s technology has major implications for all applications with digital user interfaces such as public signage, e-paper, mobile technology, white-goods, clocks/watches, medical instrumentation, industrial meters and billboard markets etc. NCD Displays have superior optical performance over LCDs, giving much better contrast of the image against the background and better legibility. It estimates that the addressable market for its technology is in excess of €7bn..
The company is employing a multi-pronged commercialisation strategy to exploit its technology in the display market. The technology is now ready for the low resolution display market (e.g. clocks, whitegoods, meters, instrumentation displays, etc). NTERA’s approach is to proliferate this market through direct product sales and to license its technology to major display producers. For high resolution displays (e.g. notebooks, PDAs, e-readers, etc), NTERA is actively working with several global partners to enable it to access this market.
NTERA is believed to one of the few companies in Ireland which has its own intellectual property department. Recognising the value of intellectual assets, it has concentrated on the acquisition and management of these assets, arranging the patenting of its own in-house technology developments, evaluating external technologies and managing disclosures and licence agreements.