Dear reader,

The German stock exchange in Frankfurt, Deutsche Börse AG, and the New York Stock Exchange are entering a merger, as a response to a fundamentally changing landscape. Competition is growing in the developing BRIC countries and Asia: rapidly expanding economies where economic strength is reflected in the enormous financial power of their stock exchanges. The boom has different causes, but innovative technologies form the foundation for this rapid growth and stabilization. Nanotechnology is being massively promoted as a result. Russia for example has allocated seven billion US dollars, and Singapore is currently establishing itself as the nanotechnology hub of Asia. Nanostart is also an active participant. You will learn more in the latest newsletter. We hope you find these and the other articles enjoyable and informative.

Sincerely yours,

Dr. Hans Joachim Dürr
Head of Corporate Communications

• Russia: Nanotechnology is coming
  Until recently, Russia has been known primarily for its mineral resources and as an exporter of petroleum and natural gas. This BRIC country, which is developing into Europe's largest economy, wants to liberate itself from the dependency on raw materials and promote innovation. One focus is on nanotechnology >>

• Nanostart AG at Nanotech Tokyo: Partnering with the German government
  With over 45,000 visitors, Nanotech Tokyo is the world's largest nanotechnology industry event. Nanostart exhibited in the "German Area" as a partner of Germany Trade & Invest, the economic development organization for the Federal Republic of Germany. The trade show took place February 16 to 18 for the tenth time. >>

• Nanostart holding Nanosys: Mega-color through nanoparticles
  Cell phones, smart phones, computers, televisions: modern people take electronically generated moving, color images for granted as part of their environment. The technology to depict imagery is sophisticated and under constant further development. Nanostart holding Nanosys is a forerunner in the area of display technology and looks forward to an exciting 2011. >>

• Nanostart at Invest in Stuttgart: Win free passes!
  The annual Invest trade show is one of the most important events for institutional and private investors in Germany. According to organizer Messe Stuttgart, last year more than 14,000 visitors were greeted by over 200 exhibitors. >>

• New Singapore holding: MINT Membranes
  The newest Nanostart holding is MINT Membranes in Singapore, which is managed through the Nanostart Singapore Early Stage Venture Fund. The fund holds an 18 percent share in MINT. Contracts have been finalized in late February. >>

Russia: Nanotechnology is coming

Until recently, Russia has been known primarily for its mineral resources and as an exporter of petroleum and natural gas. This BRIC country, which is developing into Europe's largest economy, wants to liberate itself from the dependency on raw materials and promote innovation. One focus is on nanotechnology.

More than seven billion US dollars will flow into Russian nanotechnology between 2009 and 2015. With this gigantic innovation offensive, the country wants to transform itself from an exporter of raw materials into a leading player on the international nanotechnology market. A current market report now forecasts that by the year 2013, 2.5 percent of the global market for nanotechnological products will come from Russia.

The seven billion dollars will be administered by the Russian government holding Rusnano, which has established a goal of promoting the commercialization of nanotechnological products in Russia. Consequently, enormous investment sums are flowing into cooperative agreements and joint ventures with different nanotechnology companies around the world.

Only a few weeks ago it was reported that Rusnano has invested 700 million US dollars in the company Plastic Logic to construct a factory for manufacturing electronic displays in Russia. Production start is planned for 2013/2014. Plastic Logic is an American technology company and a specialist in the future nanotechnology field of organic electronics, where thin TFTs (thin film transistors) "cold-pressed" onto foil. The new displays are extremely thin and flexible (about DIN A4 size) synthetic foils and are a great step forward in fulfilling idea of an electronic newspaper or book – nanotechnology at its best. It's logical that attractive opportunities will arise for Nanostart in the Russian market.

Nanostart AG at Nanotech Tokyo: Partnering with the German government

With over 45,000 visitors, Nanotech Tokyo is the world's largest nanotechnology industry event. Nanostart exhibited in the "German Area" as a partner of Germany Trade & Invest, the economic development organization for the Federal Republic of Germany. The trade show took place February 16 to 18 for the tenth time.

"Tokyo is a must for every company that plays a role in nanotechnology. This event is ideal for cultivating contacts and meeting new members of the nanotechnology community as well as discovering potential new investments," says Andreas Kröll, managing director of Nanostart subsidiary Nanostart Asia, which is based in Singapore. Kröll held a presentation at this year's event entitled "Growth capital for nanotechnology start-ups: The key to success." The audience consisted primarily of nanotechnology company founders, who are seeking possible sources of financial backing for their companies. They subsequently had time to discuss their individual situations with the Nanostart manager.

Under the headline "Welcome to Nanotech Germany," Nanostart presented in the "German Area" as a special partner selected by Germany Trade & Invest. See impressions from the Nanotech event here >>

Nanostart holding Nanosys: Mega-color through nanoparticles

Cell phones, smart phones, computers, televisions: modern people take electronically generated moving, color images for granted as part of their environment. The technology to depict imagery is sophisticated and under constant further development. Nanostart holding Nanosys is a forerunner in the area of display technology and looks forward to an exciting 2011.

White light-emitting diodes are not optimal
To understand how the technology achieves these advantages requires insight into how liquid crystal display (LCD) screens function. Liquid crystals are illuminated from behind to produce an image. Known as backlighting, it is critical to picture quality. This is precisely where QR technology is being applied.

With current backlighting, mostly white light-emitting diodes (LEDs) serve as the light source. However, while natural white light is produced by combining all colors of the visible spectrum, LEDs usually illuminate within a very narrow spectral band, emitting only single-color light.

In order for LEDs to illuminate in white, a blue diode is combined with a chemical phosphor. This transforms a portion of the blue light into lower energy light, which appears yellow. The human eye perceives this blue and yellow blend as white. But because the red and green color content is weak, the quality of such backlit display screens is less than optimal.

Perfect color quality thanks to nanotechnology
QR technology applies a nanotechnological approach. It is also based on blue light-emitting diodes, but to transform the light, experts at Nanosys use a type of phosphor that is fundamentally different than what is usually used today. "We deploy nanoparticles, whose illumination qualities we can precisely control through production process," explains Jason Hartlove, director of Nanosys.

The critical factor: Which color these nanoparticles illuminate depends on their size. The reason: the nanoparticles are so small that not even the electrons inside can move with complete freedom. According to the principles of quantum mechanics, they can then only absorb certain specific energy states. Experts refer to such nanoparticles as quantum dots. The condition of the energy state determines the illumination color of nanoparticles. Two quantum dots from the exact same material can be illuminated in entirely different colors by varying their sizes.

Nanosys produces these nanoparticles in different precisely defined dimensions. The company embeds these variously illuminating quantum dots into a special carrier material. "You get thin strips that can easily be applied to the blue LED panel that serves as light source for screen backlighting," explains Jason Hartlove. The combination of red and green quantum dots together with blue LED light results in perfect color reproduction. The mixture of different colored quantum dots is precisely balanced based on the specifications of the display manufacturer.

Outstanding results
How QR technology is clearly improving the picture quality of commercial screens was impressively demonstrated by Nanosys chief Hartlove: To make an objective comparison requires measuring how well a display can cover so-called color spaces. With Nanosys technology, quality has been improved from 38 to over 80 percent for PC tablets, from 45 to over 102 percent for smart phones, and from 72 to 106 percent for LCD televisions.

Beneficial secondary effects: The displays consume less electricity than ones typically used today. Ultimately, the new technology also promises that display manufacturers can become less dependent on raw materials suppliers and produce with greater cost-effectiveness.

The year 2011 will be exciting for Nanosys. Market introduction of displays using quantum rail technology and produced by commercialization partner LG Innotek is planned.

Nanostart at Invest in Stuttgart: Win free passes!

The annual Invest trade show is one of the most important events for institutional and private investors in Germany. According to organizer Messe Stuttgart, last year more than 14,000 visitors were greeted by over 200 exhibitors. 

Nanostart AG will also be present with an exhibit booth (Hall 1, E75) this year from March 18 to 20 at the International Congress Center (ICS) in Stuttgart. Vanessa Mieschke, investor relations manager at Nanostart, will hold a presentation entitled "Investing in nanotechnology" on March 18 at 11:00 a.m. (Congress Room C6.2.2). "We look forward to exhibiting and presenting at Invest as well as introducing visitors to Nanostart and its business model in a personal conversation", said Ms. Mieschke in anticipation. In addition to companies of all sizes, financial and business media will also be among the exhibitors.

We would like to invite all readers to visit the Nanostart booth and learn more about Nanostart! The first 50 people to sign up will receive the entry code for a free day pass. If you are interested please click here >>

New Singapore holding: MINT Membranes

The newest Nanostart holding is MINT Membranes in Singapore, which is managed through the Nanostart Singapore Early Stage Venture Fund. The fund holds an 18 percent share in MINT. Contracts have been finalized in late February.

The company develops and produces highly sensitive nanotechnology-based sensors. They monitor the function and efficiency of filter membranes in water treatment facilities by automatically measuring quality-determining parameters of the filtrate. The MINT system constantly monitors measurement results and automatically initiates appropriate countermeasures when disturbances occur.

You will learn more about this latest member of the Nanostart portfolio in the next newsletter.

• „A Look at SimpliClear“: Mervyn Fathianathan and George Aliphtiras, manager of Nanostart-holding BioMers, in an interview with the US-magazine “Orthodontic Products” about the unique features of the world's only completly translucent braces system SimpliClear.
  To read the article click here >>

• Germany Expands Nanotechnology Funding With New Action Plan: Germany´s federal government recently introduced its Nanotechnology Action Plan 2015. The comprehensive approach extends and expands upon a previous program, which provided EUR 400 million in public funding for nanotechnology research in 2010 - the highest level in Europe.
  To read the article click here >>

• 17.02.2011
  Nanostart AG invests in Singapore-based cleantech company MINT >>

• 02.02.2011
  Nanostart-held Holmenkol continues on growth path >>

• Tuesday, March 1 | 09:05 - 09:50 Uhr
  The Wall Street Analyst Forum; New York >>

• Friday, March 18
  Invest; Stuttgart >>
  

• Friday, March 25 | 09:00 - 14:00
  NEnA V; Duisburg-Essen >>

Contact

Dr. Hans Joachim Dürr
Head of Corporate Communications

phone: +49 (0) 69-21 93 96-111
fax: +49 (0) 69-21 93 96-150
e-mail: presse@nanostart.de
website: www.nanostart.de

Nanostart AG
Goethestraße 26-28
D-60313 Frankfurt am Main
Germany

CEO: Marco Beckmann
Supervisory Board: Dr. Alfred Krammer (chairman),
Prof. Wolfgang M. Heckl (vice chairman), Achim Lindner
Commercial register: Frankfurt am Main, HRB 74535

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