1- NanoMemPro in a nutshell
2- The European need for integration
3- Membrane science
4- NanoMemPro: organization and activities
1- NanoMemPro in a nutshell
The European Network of Excellence on Nanoscale-based Membrane Technologies is a 4-year project funded within the 3rd priority of the European Commission’s Sixth Framework Programme (“Nano-technologies and nano-sciences, knowledge-based multifunctional materials, and new production processes and devices”).
Launched in September 2004, its objective is to reach an effective integration of research activities, training, equipment sharing, and thus answer the needs for a coordinated membrane science and technology R&D in Europe.
The Network aims at acting as an interface between research, industry and society at large.
The 13 scientific core members (122 researchers and 57 doctorals students) associated in this project make up a critical mass of experts. They are strongly linked to the whole scientific community and have a significant experience of collaborations (joint actions in particular through FP4 and FP5, works published jointly). NanoMemPro thus links nano and macro scale in both basic and applied research.
A Club of Interest (CoI) has been set up to ensure strong links with European industry, and is currently involved in setting up a European SBRA. A CoI newsletter is issued twice a year. Other experts are associated to the Network’s activities through the Club of Expertise.
2- NanoMemPro stems from Europe’s need for integration
European research is recognized worldwide for its quality. Yet when it comes to translating this scientific excellence into concrete innovation and jobs, Europe lacks the dynamism found in the US and Japan and needs to overcome the fragmentation of its Member States’ science and technology policies. The European Research Area (ERA) is intended to co-ordinate these national research policies in the direction of shared objectives, expertise and resources. A number of instruments have been designed to achieve such a federation - among which the Networks of Excellence - along with a number of research fields needing reshaping, one of them being membrane technologies.
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3- Membrane science
A membrane is a very thin layer of material which allows two environments to come in close contact, permitting exchanges while protecting each environment. Membranes are used in many industries including water treatment, energy, health and agro-business: they play a leading role in innovative processes and are part of the main strategic research activities in all developed countries.
With a 10 to 20 % annual growth rate of the membrane market, membranes play an increasingly central role in many systems/operations (separation but also reaction, sensors and actuators, artificial organs, packaging…) and fields of applications (chemical, pharmaceutical, health, energy, food, environmental, electronic, process… industries). Total world market is expected to exceed 9.2 billion € in the next decade.
For the time being, the artificial membranes we are working on are very coarse copies of the cellular membranes which ensure all the basic functions of life. To make artificial membranes increasingly effective and have their performances reach those of their biological model, a control of the properties of the materials at the nanometer level is necessary.
Membrane science is based on the synergy of different domains: conceiving and realizing a given membrane answering a precise objective requires a bringing together of solid chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, polymer chemistry, organic synthesis, physico-chemistry of interfaces and solutions, modelling and chemical engineering.
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4- NanoMemPro: organization and activities
- Networks of Excellence share a similar structure – a Joint Programme of Activities - comprising Integrating Activities, Joint Research Activities, Spreading of Excellence Activities and Management Activities.
- Each activity is divided into a number of workpackages. For each workpackage, reports (“Delivrables”) assessing that the pre-set objectives have been reached is sent to the European Commission and allows everyone to take stock of the Network’s progress. A summary of the delivrables completed per workpackage is given on each activity webpage.
- NanoMemPro's newsletter is published online twice a year.
