Nanostellar Selected by the World Economic Forum as a 2008 Technology Pioneer
Silicon-Valley Company Joins Elite Crowd; Past Winners Have Included BusinessObjects, Google and Napster
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Nov. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Nanostellar, Inc., a leaderin nano-engineered catalyst materials, announced today that the World EconomicForum (WEF) has selected it as a 2008 Technology Pioneer. Nanostellar is oneof 39 visionary companies from around the globe to receive this prestigioushonor as nominated by leading technology experts from the academia, media,venture capital, and corporate technology communities. A WEF-appointed panelmade the final selection of Nanostellar, selecting it from a record-nominationlist of 273 companies. Nanostellar has been invited to participate along withfellow 2008 Technology Pioneers at the WEF's annual meeting scheduled forJanuary 23-27, 2008 in Davos, Switzerland, as well as at the annual meeting ofthe New Champions that will be held in Tianjin, People's Republic of China,September 25-27, 2008.
Novel Emissions Control Materials Developed Rapidly With Rational CatalystDesign
Nanostellar's innovation addresses the serious threats posed to theenvironment by pollution from automobiles, trucks and stationary engines.These threats are spurring governments in the United States, European Union,and other industrialized nations to pass legislation that sets incrementallystricter standards for emissions reduction. This in return requires rapidevolution of the chemical catalysts used to mitigate emissions.
Nanostellar's Rational Catalyst Design methodology unites two disciplines
-- computational nanoscience and advanced synthetic chemistry -- to speed the-- computational nanoscience and advanced synthetic chemistry -- to speed thepace of development for nano-engineered catalytic materials for dieselemissions control. Rational Catalyst Design allows Nanostellar to gain afundamental understanding of the surface chemistry and properties ofnano-materials, enabling it to develop new nano-engineered alloys at recordspeeds.
In June 2007, Nanostellar pioneered the use of gold as an automotivecatalyst, in combination with platinum and palladium, the traditional preciousmetals used for emissions reduction. In reducing the requirements for thosemuch more expensive metals, Nanostellar reduced the costs for the catalyticconverters in which those materials are used, while capturing more than 20percent higher noxious emissions. The potential to use gold in this type ofapplication has long been considered, but until now the technical challengesconcerning catalyst durability have prevented gold's use. Independent testresults show that Nanostellar has achieved a breakthrough in this arena.
"This award provides further validation of Nanostellar's Rational CatalystDesign methodology which, we believe, will change how chemistry gets done. Ourinnovation is analogous to the impact that EDA (electronic design automation)has had on circuit design in enabling complex circuits that are designed andtested computationally at a fraction of the time and cost required to do so byhand," said Pankaj Dhingra, CEO of Nanostellar. "We plan on using RationalCatalyst Design for other applications, including catalysts for biofuels."
2008 Pioneers Apply Transformational and Innovative Technologies
Technology Pioneers are companies that have been identified as developingand applying highly transformational and innovative technologies in the areasof energy, biotechnology and health, and information technology. To beselected as a Technology Pioneer, a company must be involved in thedevelopment of life-changing technology innovation and have the potential forlong-term impact on business and society. In addition, it must demonstratevisionary leadership, show all the signs of being a long-standing marketleader -- and its technology must be proven. Previous Technology Pioneers haveincluded Business Objects, Cambridge Silicon Radio, Corel Corporation, EncoreSoftware, Google, Mozilla Corporation and Napster.
The 2008 "pioneering" companies' products and services include: identitymanagement on the Internet, understanding of individuals' genetic information,robotic radiosurgery, pollution control materials, low-cost remote diagnosissolutions, virtual interface technologies, wiki-based projects, andnext-generation business intelligence solutions.
Twenty-three of the Technology Pioneers 2008 are US-based companies; twoeach from Israel, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Switzerland; and one eachfrom Canada, France, Germany, India, the Netherlands and Russia. TechnologyPioneers are nominated in three main categories: Energy/Environment,Biotechnology/Health and Information Technology.
The entire list of Technology Pioneers and interviews with the CEOs of theselected companies can be found here:http://www.weforum.org/techpioneers/2008.
"This year the World Economic Forum received a record number ofapplications from companies around the world to become a Technology Pioneer.From a highly competitive field, we are extremely pleased to have a communitythat is using innovation and technology to dramatically affect the way societyand business operate and doing so in a markedly collaborative manner. We areexcited to welcome the Technology Pioneers class of 2008 to the largercommunity of the World Economic Forum and we are looking forward to the fruitsthat their collaboration will bring," said Peter Torreele, managing directorof the World Economic Forum.
The selection criteria include:
1) Innovation. The company's technology must be truly innovative. A new
version or repackaging of an already well-accepted technological
solution does not qualify as an innovation. The innovation should be
recent -- not more than two years old. The company should invest
significantly in R&D.
2) Potential Impact. The company's technology must have the potential to
have a substantial long-term impact on business and society in the
future.
3) Growth and Sustainability. The company should have all the signs of
being a long-term market leader and should have well-formulated plans
for future development and growth.
4) Proof of Concept. The company must have a product on the market or
have proven practical applications of the technology. Companies in
"stealth" mode and companies with untested ideas or models will not
qualify.
5) Leadership. The company must have visionary leadership that plays a
critical role in driving the company towards reaching its goals.
6) Status. The company must not currently be a Member of the World
Economic Forum. This criterion applies to the parent company -- thus
wholly-owned subsidiaries of large firms are not eligible.
Nanostellar -- Well Down the Road to Commercialization
Nanostellar commercialized its first-generation catalyst material in 2006with its products currently in use helping to reduce soot emitted fromGermany's existing vehicles on the road, and carbon monoxide emissions fromEurope's stationary power sources. In addition, Nanostellar has initiatedseveral programs with various automotive manufacturers with commercializationtargeted as early as 2008. One major European automotive manufacturer is inthe final stages of certifying Nanostellar material on a large-volume engineplatform with production targeted for mid-2008. Additionally, a global OEM hasqualified Nanostellar products for its next-generation diesel vehicles in2010. Nanostellar is working with this OEM's catalyst suppliers to become itsglobal materials supplier.
About Nanostellar
Nanostellar, Inc. provides diesel automotive and stationary powerindustries with nano-engineered catalyst materials that reduce exhaustemissions and increase the effectiveness of precious metals in catalysts.Focusing on the fields of quantum computational nanoscience, chemistry,materials science, and chemical engineering, Nanostellar utilizes RationalCatalyst Design, which combines computational approaches with targetedexperiments, to accelerate the development of new materials. Headquartered inRedwood City, California, Nanostellar is funded by premier investors including3i, Khosla Ventures, Monitor Ventures, Firelake Capital Management LLC, andAsiaTech Management. For more information, visit http://www.nanostellar.com.
About the World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is an independent international organizationcommitted to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders inpartnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas.
Incorporated as a foundation in 1971, and based in Geneva, Switzerland,the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit; it is tied to nopolitical, partisan or national interests. (http://www.weforum.org)
Notes to Editors:
-- Go to http://www.weforum.org/techpioneers/2008 for the entire list of
Technology Pioneers and interviews with the CEOs of the selected
companies. For more specific information, please e-mail:
tech.pioneers@weforum.org.
-- Download print-quality high-resolution photographs of the CEOs of the
selected companies at: http://www.pbase.com/forumweb/techpioneers2008
-- Nominate a company to be a Technology Pioneer 2009 at:
http://www.weforum.org/pdf/techpioneers/nomination_form_2008.pdf.
Deadline for submissions is May 2008.
Nanostellar is a registered trademark of Nanostellar, Inc. All otherbrands, products, or service names are or may be trademarks or service marksof their respective owners.SOURCE Nanostellar, Inc.Ross Perich of Trainer Communications, +1-925-556-5463, nano@trainercomm.com,for Nanostellar, Inc.
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