A Workshop Co-Sponsored by

USDA Forest Service

National Nanotechnology Initiative

May 20 –21, 2014

USDA Patriot Plaza III

355 E St., SW, Washington D.C.

Cellulose Nanomaterials—

A Path Towards Commercialization

Workshop Report

August 2014
Acknowledgements

The Cellulose Nanomaterials – A Path Towards Commercialization Workshop was sponsored by 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in collaboration with the National Nanotechnology 

Initiative (NNI). 

This document was developed under the guidance of World Nieh of the U.S. Forest Service and 

the Organizing Committee (roster in Appendix B). The principal writers were Fred Hansen, Victoria 

Brun, and Emily Keller of Energetics Incorporated, World Nieh and Theodore Wegner of the U.S. 

Forest Service, Michael Meador of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and 

Lisa Friedersdorf of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office. 

The Forest Service also wishes to acknowledge the contributions of the workshop participants 

representing industry, academia, and government. A full list of participants can be found in 

Appendix A. 
Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

Table of Contents

Executive Summary..........................................................................................................................................................v

1. Introduction................................................................................................................................................................... 1

2. Cellulose Nanomaterials........................................................................................................................................... 3

3. Workshop Structure.................................................................................................................................................... 7

4. Commercial Opportunities....................................................................................................................................... 9

5. Challenges and Barriers...........................................................................................................................................13

6. R&D Roles and Priorities..........................................................................................................................................17

7. Path Forward ...............................................................................................................................................................21

Appendices

Appendix A. List of Participants............................................................................................................................... A1

Appendix B. Workshop Organizers..........................................................................................................................B1

Appendix C. Workshop Agenda................................................................................................................................C1

Appendix D. Additional Resources..........................................................................................................................D1

Appendix E. References................................................................................................................................................E1

Table of Contents

iii

Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

Cellulose nanomaterials are primarily isolated 

from trees and other organisms; are naturally 

occurring polymeric materials that have 

demonstrated great promise for commercial 

applications across an array of industrial 

sectors; are renewable and environmentally 

sustainable; and have the potential to be 

produced in large volumes (i.e., millions of tons 

per year). The commercialization of cellulose 

nanomaterials has the capacity to create 

hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect 

jobs, particularly in rural America. The United 

States is currently in a good position to become 

a leading global source of commercial cellulose 

nanomaterials innovation, production, and use. 

A National Challenge

Despite great market potential, 

commercialization of cellulose nanomaterials 

in the United States is moving slowly. In 

contrast, foreign research, development, and 

deployment (RD&D) of cellulose nanomaterials 

has received significant governmental support 

through investments and coordination. U.S. 

RD&D activities have received much less 

government support and instead have relied 

on public-private partnerships and private 

sector investment. Without additional action 

to increase government investments and 

coordination, the United States could miss the 

window of opportunity for global leadership 

and end up being an “also ran” that has to 

import cellulose nanomaterials and products 

made by incorporating cellulose nanomaterials. 

If this happens, significant economic and 

social benefits would be lost. Accelerated 

commercialization for both the production and 

application of cellulose nanomaterials in a wide 

array of products is a critical national challenge. 

A Market-Driven Approach

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 

in collaboration with the U.S. National 

Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), organized the 

Cellulose Nanomaterials Commercialization 

Workshop held on May 20–21, 2014, in 

Washington, DC. This workshop brought 

together a wide range of experts representing 

industry, academia, and government in an 

effort to strengthen cross-sector partnerships 

and ensure that future RD&D efforts are 

informed by market needs. The workshop 

generated market-driven input in three areas: 

Opportunities for Commercialization, Barriers 

to Commercialization, and Research and 

Development (R&D) Roles and Priorities. 

Opportunities for 

Commercialization

The workshop identified numerous commercial 

opportunities for cellulose nanomaterials 

to meet a wide range of end-use needs and 

to help address key policy agendas such 

as advanced manufacturing, accelerated 

technology transfer, energy efficiency, and 

rural economic development. Commercial 

applications discussed at the workshop 

included such diverse areas as automotive 

components, aerospace applications, 

electronics, cosmetic applications, food 

packaging, specialty paper, and polymer 

reinforcement. This potential is both a blessing 

and a curse for accelerating commercialization. 

With finite resources, the multitude of options 

could easily dilute focus. Hence, it is important 

to identify those opportunities that can 

provide the initial market pull to have the 

most robust impact, enabling initial largeExecutive Summary

Executive Summary

v
Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

scale manufacturing and paving the way 

for the development of other higher value 

applications. 

Barriers to Commercialization

Within the context of the workshop, 

barriers to commercialization represented 

the key “problems” to be solved. Clarifying 

the problems to be solved is a precursor 

to identifying solutions. The workshop 

identified critical barriers that are slowing 

commercialization. These barriers included lack 

of collaboration among potential producers 

and users; coordination of efforts among 

government, industry, and academia; lack of 

characterization and standards for cellulose 

nanomaterials; the need for greater market pull; 

and the need to overcome processing technical 

challenges related to cellulose nanomaterials 

dewatering and dispersion. While significant, 

these barriers are not insurmountable as 

long as the underlying technical challenges 

are properly addressed. With the right focus 

and sufficient resources, R&D should be able 

to overcome these key identified barriers. 

Achieving the focus and the resources will 

require collaboration of industry, government, 

and research as well as prudent investment of 

R&D funds. 

R&D Roles and Priorities

The discussion of R&D roles and priorities 

represented a shift in focus from key problems 

to “solutions.” Given the market-driven 

orientation of the workshop, the discussion of 

R&D roles and priorities included both general 

needs and specific technical challenges that 

need to be addressed and provided important 

and valuable input to future R&D efforts. At 

the more general level, key themes revolved 

around demonstration and scale-up and 

improvement of the manufacturing process 

in order to achieve the best balance of cost 

and performance. In addition, collaboration 

between the public and private sectors is 

seen as having a significant role in supporting 

R&D. At a more specific level, the workshop 

discussions identified key technical barriers that 

will help to establish targets for R&D initiatives. 

Path Forward

The workshop generated input that will be 

used to inform the USDA Forest Service’s R&D 

planning for cellulose nanomaterials and future 

directions of the NNI’s Nanomanufacturing 

Signature Initiative. With the market-driven 

focus of the workshop, the results build on 

and advance past efforts to explore the market 

potential of cellulose nanomaterial applications 

by identifying R&D thrusts that will help enable 

commercialization. From the workshop results, 

it is clear that, with the proper focus and 

resources, R&D advancements will provide a 

critical stimulus to accelerate commercialization 

of cellulose nanomaterials. 

Executive Summary

vi
Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

1. Introduction

Cellulose nanomaterials have demonstrated 

potential applications in a wide array of 

industrial sectors, including electronics, 

construction, packaging, food, energy, health 

care, automotive, and defense. Cellulose 

nanomaterials are projected to be less 

expensive than many other nanomaterials and, 

among other characteristics, tout an impressive 

strength-to-weight ratio (Erickson 2012, 26). The 

theoretical strength-to-weight performance 

offered by cellulose nanomaterials are 

unmatched by current technology (NIST 2008, 

17). Furthermore, cellulose nanomaterials have 

proven to have major environmental benefits 

because they are recyclable, biodegradable, 

and produced from renewable resources. 

The commercialization of cellulose 

nanomaterials in the United States has the 

potential to create hundreds of thousands of 

direct and indirect jobs and, in particular, would 

strongly benefit rural America (Erickson 2014, 

26). In addition, the United States possesses 

the resources and the infrastructure to support 

a large cellulose nanomaterials industry. 

However, the commercialization process needs 

to be accelerated in order to get cellulose 

nanomaterials into applications that can create 

strong market pull and support the growth of 

the cellulose nanomaterials industry. 

To accelerate the commercialization of 

cellulose nanomaterials, the U.S. Department 

of Agriculture - Forest Service (USDAFS), in collaboration with the National 

Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), held a 

workshop titled “Cellulose Nanomaterials – A 

Path Towards Commercialization” on May 

20–21, 2014, at the USDA Patriot Plaza III in 

Washington, DC. This workshop brought 

together a wide range of experts representing 

industry, academia, and government sectors to 

explore opportunities for commercialization, 

identify technical barriers, and provide input 

to USDA-FS Research and Development (R&D) 

about potential areas of R&D needed to address 

the key technical barriers to commercialization. 

Although the workshop included technical 

experts, the intent was to engage a broader 

audience in a cross-sector dialogue and adopt 

a market-driven approach to ensure that future 

R&D efforts would be informed by market 

needs. 

Structure of this Report

The purpose of this report is to summarize 

the workshop results and present the major 

conclusions to inform and guide USDA-FS 

and NNI planning and investments aimed at 

expediting the commercialization of cellulose 

nanomaterials. The next chapter presents 

an overview of cellulose nanomaterials: the 

background, the potential of the materials, 

and the current state of technology and 

applications in the United States. 

Chapter 3 provides a rationale for the 

workshop’s five panels and for the three areas of 

focus: commercialization opportunities, barriers 

and challenges, and R&D roles and priorities. 

Chapters 4–6 provide an overview of the major 

themes and some specific comments derived 

from participant input. Chapter 7 presents 

reflections on the path forward. 

1. Introduction

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Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

Overview of Cellulose 

Nanomaterials

Cellulose nanomaterials are nanoscale materials 

isolated from trees, other plants, and algae or 

generated by bacteria and tunicates (Erickson 

2014, 26). Different raw material sources, as 

well as different production methods, will 

lead to cellulose nanomaterials with differing 

morphology and properties, such as length, 

aspect ratio, branching, and crystallinity 

(Ireland, Jones, Moon, Wegner, and Nieh 2014, 

4). With respect to commercialization, two 

major categories of cellulose nanomaterials 

have received the greatest interest: cellulose 

nanocrystals (CNCs) and cellulose nanofibrils 

(CNFs). Cellulose nanocrystals and cellulose 

nanofibrils are obtained from wood pulp or 

other cellulose sources by two contrasting 

methods. For example, cellulose nanocrystals 

are produced by acid hydrolysis of wood 

fiber or other cellulosic materials. The process 

produces rod-like nanoscale materials that are 

3–20 nm wide and 50–500 nm in length (Moon 

and Walker 2012, 34). Alternatively, cellulose 

nanofibrils are produced using mechanical 

processes with or without chemical (e.g., 

2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl, or TEMPO) 

and biological (e.g., enzyme) treatments to 

produce fibril-like nanoscale materials. CNFs are 

4–50 nm wide, longer than 500 nm in length, 

and can be single strands or branched (Moon 

and Walker 2012, 34). The range of cellulose 

nanomaterial morphologies and properties 

supports a variety of potential applications 

across multiple industries.

Potential Applications

Cellulose nanomaterials could lead to many 

novel applications and products. All forms 

of cellulose nanomaterials are lightweight, 

strong, and stiff. CNCs possess photonic and 

piezoelectric properties, while CNFs can 

provide very stable hydrogels and aerogels. 

In addition, cellulose nanomaterials have low 

materials cost potential compared to other 

competing materials and, in their unmodified 

state, have so far shown few environmental, 

health, and safety (EHS) concerns (Ireland, 

Jones, Moon, Wegner, and Nieh 2014, 6). 

Currently, cellulose nanomaterials have 

demonstrated great potential for use in many 

areas, including aerogels, oil drilling additives, 

paints, coatings, adhesives, cement, food 

additives, lightweight packaging materials, 

paper, health care products, tissue scaffolding, 

lightweight vehicle armor, space technology, 

and automotive parts. Hence, cellulose 

nanomaterials have the potential to positively 

impact numerous industries. 

An important attribute of cellulose 

nanomaterials is that they are derived from 

renewable and broadly available resources (i.e., 

plant, animal, bacterial, and algal biomass). 

They are biodegradable and bring recyclability 

to products that contain them. For example, 

2. Cellulose Nanomaterials 

Cellulose is the most abundant organic 

polymer on earth. It can be found in 

plant cell walls together with other 

renewable polymers such as lignin and 

hemicellulose. Trees produce cellulose 

from atmospheric carbon dioxide 

and water with solar energy through 

photosynthesis. Products made from 

cellulose will store the atmospheric 

carbon throughout their service until the 

end of life.

2. Cellulose Nanomaterials

3
Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

CNC and CNF could be coupled with polylactic 

acid (PLA) to provide a fully biologically sourced 

and biodegradable fiber-reinforced composite, 

and incorporation of biodegradable cellulose 

nanomaterials allows for the production 

of recyclable electronics. Hence, cellulose 

nanomaterials may reduce environmental 

impacts by enabling post-consumer 

disposability and recyclability of many 

products. Cellulose nanomaterials sequester 

carbon and can be a substitute for fossil fuelderived products in various applications. 

Therefore, the potential environmental benefits 

of producing and using cellulose nanomaterials 

are substantial.

Current State of Technology and 

Application 

Up to now, the United States has invested 

resources to understand and develop 

applications of cellulose nanomaterials and 

has developed technologies and pilot-scale 

capacity to manufacture them. The United 

States currently possesses about 751 million 

acres of forests, 44% of which are managed by 

federal, state, or local governments (Erickson 

2014, 27). The forest products industry 

procures wood from forests and converts it to 

large quantities of lumber, wood composites, 

pulp, and paper products. The infrastructure 

is already in place to support large-scale 

production of cellulose nanomaterials from 

forests (Ireland, Jones, Moon, Wegner, and 

Nieh 2014, 8). The current economic decline 

and shrinking markets for business- and 

publication-grade papers have created excess 

production capacity for facilities in several U.S. 

regions. Successful development of cellulose 

nanomaterial-enabled products would 

provide stressed production facilities with an 

emerging product that can bring them back to 

profitability and provide a substantial boost to 

rural economies. 

Commercialization of cellulose nanomaterials 

could profoundly benefit the U.S. economy. 

In his opening remarks at the workshop, 

Thomas Kalil, Deputy Director for Technology 

and Innovation at the White House Office 

of Science and Technology Policy, pointed 

to a study estimating that commercializing 

cellulose nanomaterials for the paper industry 

alone could yield as many as 425,000 new 

direct and indirect jobs in the United States 

2. Cellulose Nanomaterials

4
Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

by 2020 (Erickson 2014, 26). USDA Deputy 

Undersecretary Arthur (Butch) Blazer also 

mentioned the importance of cellulosic 

nanomaterials to creating jobs and improving 

the economy in rural America in his opening 

remarks. Considering the numerous 

applications for cellulose nanomaterials in 

other sectors, the potential for job creation is 

enormous.

However, commercialization of cellulose 

nanomaterials in the United States has 

been moving slowly. Since 2009, the USDA 

Forest Service has invested around $20 

million in cellulose nanomaterials R&D, a 

small fraction of the $680 million spent on 

cellulose nanomaterials R&D by governments 

worldwide (Erickson 2014, 26). In order to 

remain globally competitive, accelerated 

research, development, and commercialization 

of cellulose nanomaterials in the United States 

is imperative. Otherwise, the manufacturing 

of cellulose nanomaterials and cellulose 

nanomaterial-enabled products will be 

established by foreign producers, and the 

United States will be purchasing these materials 

from other countries. Establishing a large-scale 

production of cellulose nanomaterials in the 

United States is critical for creating new uses 

from wood—which is, in turn, vital to the future 

of forest management and the livelihood of 

landowners.

Need to Accelerate 

Commercialization

To respond to the very substantive and 

coordinated investments being made by 

industry, government, and academia in 

foreign countries, there is an urgent need 

for identifying and developing solutions 

to overcome the key technical barriers and 

challenges that are hindering the speed of 

cellulose nanomaterials commercialization in 

the United States. The intent of this workshop 

was to help address this need by identifying 

major barriers, analyzing the areas of greatest 

opportunities, and pinpointing areas where 

R&D could best benefit cellulose nanomaterials 

commercialization. 

2. Cellulose Nanomaterials

5

Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

Introduction

Commercialization is necessary for the full 

potential and impact of cellulose nanomaterials 

to be realized. However, the translational 

process to commercialization is an arduous 

one. In order to successfully accelerate the 

commercialization of cellulose nanomaterials, it 

is important to utilize a market-based approach. 

This workshop was structured to consider 

perspectives from several industry sectors in 

order to identify opportunities, challenges, and 

research and development (R&D) priorities for 

commercialization. 

The Commercialization Challenge 

The focus of the workshop was based on the 

recognition of the urgency for action for our 

Nation to benefit from the commercialization 

for cellulose nanomaterials. To date, most 

efforts within the United States have been on 

foundational and proof-of-concept research—

technology readiness levels (TRLs) 1–3. 

Significant emphasis also needs to be placed 

on translational R&D in order to move the 

technology forward into commercialization. 

Particular focus on the transition through what 

is typically referred to as the “valley of death” 

(TRLs 4–7) is vital. The valley of death refers to 

the stages at which there is a high probability 

that a startup technology will fail prior to 

achieving significant market penetration. 

Therefore, the most efficient and timely use 

of resources would be to allow market needs 

to guide the development of the technology 

going forward. This does not exclude the need 

to invest in additional foundational research, 

but all R&D, including foundational R&D, should 

be driven by market needs in order for cellulose 

nanomaterials to cross the valley of death, 

achieve successful and timely commercial 

operation, and keep the United States 

competitive in the global marketplace.

Workshop Participants

Because the commercialization challenge 

requires collaboration across numerous sectors, 

the workshop participants included more than 

130 experts representing various industries, 

academia, and government organizations 

(see Appendix A). This diversity allowed for a 

greater understanding of the market needs and 

potential across a variety of industry sectors. 

The Five Panel Areas 

Within the workshop, there were five different 

panels: Federal; Large Volume User; Paper, 

Packaging, Food & Beverage; Specialty 

Applications; and Manufacturing. Additional 

input came in the form of discussions during 

facilitated breakout sessions that were held 

on the second day of the workshop, organized 

according to the same topics as the panel 

sessions with the exception of the Federal panel 

(see the workshop agenda in Appendix C). These 

panels and breakout sessions were designed to 

3. Workshop Structure

The U.S. National Nanotechnology 

Initiative (NNI) was launched in 2001. 

The Forest Service is one the 20 

Federal departments and independent 

agencies participating in the NNI. 

Expert inputs from this FS-NNI Cellulose 

Nanomaterials workshop will inform 

Forest Service research, NNI Signature 

Initiatives, and other major Presidential 

initiatives such as the National Network 

for Manufacturing Innovation.

3. Workshop Structure

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Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

capture a variety of market-based perspectives 

from users, producers, and government. 

The Federal panel represented the federal 

government perspective. This perspective 

encompassed multiple broad mission areas of 

the government, including R&D and regulatory 

agencies as well as agencies that often serve as 

early adopters (end users) of new technology 

(e.g., the U.S. Department of Defense [DOD] 

and the National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration [NASA]). 

The remaining four panels with their respective 

breakout sessions focused on a more limited 

market perspective. The Large Volume User; 

Specialty Applications; and Paper, Packaging, 

Food & Beverage panels were designed to 

represent the end-user perspective. The 

Specialty Applications panel focused on 

high-end uses, an area where functionality is 

more important than price. Alternatively, the 

Large Volume User panel focused more on 

the scale of production and price reduction. 

The Paper, Packaging, Food & Beverage 

panel represented a significant sector with 

large volume that is further along than 

some other sectors in the commercialization 

process. Understanding these different user 

perspectives is crucial for creating market 

pull for the material, opening up pathways to 

commercialization, and prioritizing R&D efforts. 

Finally, the Manufacturing panel represented 

the producers, those interested in making the 

material. Hence, the five panels enabled the 

workshop to view cellulose nanomaterials 

markets from a variety of angles along the 

value chain.

Opportunities, Barriers & 

Challenges, and R&D Roles & 

Priorities

In order to tackle the commercialization 

issue with a market-based approach, the 

workshop prompted the participants to first 

think about potential opportunities for the 

commercialization of cellulose nanomaterials, 

then to acknowledge the challenges and 

barriers to commercialization relative to the 

identified market opportunities, and finally to 

identify what can be done to address those 

barriers, particularly the role of R&D. In this 

way, the workshop was able to investigate a 

large number of ideas from a market-driven 

perspective. 

The following three chapters summarize the 

participants’ responses in regards to these 

three concepts (commercial opportunities, 

technical challenges, and R&D priorities). Their 

input was derived both from open discussions 

during the panel sessions and breakouts 

and from worksheets that were handed out 

during the sessions in order to capture input 

from individuals who did not speak during 

the discussions. This ensured that all possible 

feedback was gathered from participants. 

In some cases, participants offered input that 

was very specific to their panel area; however, 

there were also some significant themes 

frequently referenced at multiple panels. 

The next three chapters address both the 

reoccurring key themes and the panel-specific 

comments for each of the three concept areas.

3. Workshop Structure

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Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

Introduction

A market-based approach begins by looking 

at the potential applications that could create 

commercial opportunities. In essence, the 

identification of commercial opportunities 

helps define the end state toward which 

commercialization efforts are aiming. 

Key Themes

The most common themes to emerge across 

the panels and breakout sessions regarding 

the commercial opportunities for cellulose 

nanomaterials included the following 

application areas: Automotive, Aerospace, 

Construction, Electronics, Cosmetics, Coatings 

and Paint, Food Packaging, Paperboard and 

Packaging, Specialty Paper, and Composites 

and Polymer Reinforcement. Specifically, 

stakeholders at the workshop focused on the 

following:

 Automotive Applications/Markets: 

Market opportunities include cellulose 

nanomaterial-enabled composites and 

surface coatings to be incorporated 

into the body components and interiors 

of automobiles. For automobile body 

components, the market is based on 

the potential of cellulose nanomaterial 

composites and materials to reduce weight 

without reducing strength. For interiors, 

the benefit of cellulose nanomaterials is in 

improving surface resistance to abrasions, 

improving appearance, allowing tunable 

appearance, and light-weighting. The 

application of cellulose nanomaterials also 

improves the recyclability of automobile 

components and increases the portion 

of the automobile that is made from 

sustainable materials.

 Aerospace Applications/Markets: Market 

opportunities within the aerospace market 

are similar to those of the automotive 

market. Cellulose nanomaterial-enabled 

components may be incorporated into 

aircraft and satellites. For aircraft, the 

applications could include interior panels, 

trays, and seats. For satellites, the application 

is for wiring and housing materials. The 

market opportunity is based on cellulose 

nanomaterials’ potential impact on 

light-weighting as well as on improving 

dimensional stability and even thermal 

resistance of materials.

 Construction Applications/Markets: 

Market opportunities include use of 

cellulose nanomaterial-enabled composites, 

surface coatings, and additives in wallboard, 

wood-based structural components, 

insulation, and cement or concrete. For 

wallboard and other structural components, 

the opportunity would be based on 

the ability of cellulose nanomaterials to 

improve strength-to-weight ratios and add 

water resistance. For insulation, cellulose 

nanomaterial aerogels would provide a 

thinner and more breathable insulation 

material. Cellulose nanomaterials may also 

be used to reinforce cement to increase 

toughness and durability. 

4. Commercial Opportunities

Nanotechnology is the understanding 

and control of matter at the nanoscale, 

at dimensions between approximately 

1 and 100 nanometers, where unique 

phenomena enable novel applications. 

At this scale, materials can exhibit 

unusual physical, chemical, and 

biological properties. 

4. Commercial Opportunities

9
Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

 Electronics: Market opportunities in the 

electronics industry include the potential for 

cellulose nanomaterial-enabled composites 

and materials to be used as substrates in 

flexible electronics, in housings, and even in 

some electronic components. This market 

opportunity is enhanced by the ability of 

cellulose nanomaterials to enable a more 

sustainable and environmentally friendly 

disposal of used or obsolete products, 

either through recycling or improved 

biodegradability. 

 Cosmetics Applications/Markets: Market 

opportunities in cosmetics include use 

of cellulose nanomaterial additives as 

emulsifiers, hydrating agents, or rheology 

modifiers. The market opportunity benefits 

from the non-toxic and nonallergenic nature 

of cellulose nanomaterials.

 Coatings/Paint: Market opportunities 

include the use of cellulose nanomaterials 

as additives to improve the properties of 

paints and coatings such as varnishes and 

urethanes. This market opportunity is based 

on the ability of cellulose nanomaterials 

to serve as rheology modifiers to affect 

viscosity and application characteristics 

such as dripping, splattering, sagging, and 

coverage. Cellulose nanomaterials can also 

improve finish durability and provide ultraviolet light (UV) protection. 

 Food Packaging: Market opportunities in 

food packaging include the use of cellulose 

nanomaterial coatings and materials as 

barriers and/or as sensors. This opportunity 

benefits from the ability of cellulose 

nanomaterial packaging to provide a vapor 

barrier that improves freshness and reduces 

odor. In addition, cellulose nanomaterials 

possess piezoelectric properties and can 

be surface-modified to act as a sensor to 

indicate the condition of the packaged 

contents (e.g., spoiled). 

 Paperboard/Packaging: Market 

opportunities include use of cellulose 

nanomaterials in coatings or as fillers in 

paperboard manufacturing. The opportunity 

comes from the potential of cellulose 

nanomaterials to improve strength-toweight ratios and allow for lighter-weight 

end products. As coatings, cellulose 

nanomaterials can improve the dry and wet 

strength of paperboard. 

 Specialty Paper: Market opportunities 

include use of cellulose nanomaterials in 

surface applications and fillers. The use 

of cellulose nanomaterials can improve 

the product’s surface properties such as 

smoothness and printability. Cellulose 

nanomaterials also can improve strength 

and reduce the basis weight (grammage) 

of the finished product. The use of cellulose 

nanomaterials may also reduce production 

costs.

 Composites/Polymer Reinforcement: 

Market opportunities exist for cellulose 

nanomaterials to serve as composite or 

polymer reinforcements. In this market, the 

4. Commercial Opportunities

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Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

cellulose nanomaterials provide a range 

of possible value-adding characteristics, 

including improved strength, lightweighting, shape memory, and water 

absorbency. Cellulose nanomaterials can 

substitute for petroleum-based additives 

and thus increase the sustainability 

of composite materials. Cellulose 

nanomaterials also can improve the 

biodegradability of the material. Cellulose 

nanomaterials have the potential to enable 

the development of new composite 

materials with new value-added properties. 

 Others of note: Other market opportunities 

include the oil and gas industry, where 

cellulose nanomaterials could be used in 

both drilling and in oil spillage cleanup; 

the food products industry, where cellulose 

nanomaterials could serve as a fillers; and 

health care, where cellulose nanomaterials 

could be used for tissue scaffolding, wound 

healing, or as a delivery mechanism for 

medication. 

Beyond these common themes, each panel 

discussion generated a number of additional 

ideas and comments about the commercial 

applications and market opportunities for 

cellulose nanomaterials. These are presented in 

Table 1 on the next page.

Current State of the Dialogue 

One of the most important insights derived 

from both the dialogue at the workshop 

sessions and the questionnaire input 

was the breadth of possible applications 

and commercial opportunities. Cellulose 

nanomaterials have the potential to add value 

to a wide variety of products across a wide 

range of industries. They have the potential 

to displace non-renewable materials with 

ones that have a sustainable source and are 

more environmentally friendly. While this 

vast potential is encouraging, it also creates 

an impediment to commercialization. In the 

introduction to this section, opportunities 

were said to define the end state for 

commercialization efforts. Defining the 

destination should help focus the journey; 

however, the breadth of potential applications 

for cellulose nanomaterials presents multiple 

end states and thus makes it difficult to 

establish focus. The lack of a focus can dilute 

the effectiveness of commercialization efforts 

and can cause resources to be spread too 

thin. To mitigate this lack of focus caused by 

the breadth of applications identified, it is 

important to look for issues, needs, and themes 

that are held in common across the various 

applications identified. The following two 

chapters outline a number of these common 

needs identified by the workshop participants.

4. Commercial Opportunities

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Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

Table 1: Panel-Specific Comments on Commercial Opportunities

Federal Panel Discussion Large Volume User Panel 

Discussion

Paper, Packaging, Food & 

Beverage Panel Discussion

Specialty Applications 

Panel Discussion

Manufacturing Panel 

Discussion

 Energy storage 

systems

 Size-exclusion filters

 High-temperature 

applications in 

elastomers

 Period cellular 

structural materials 

and structural 

ballistic glasses

 Cosmeceuticals—

cosmetics with 

pharmaceutical or 

medical benefits, 

such as improved 

moisturizers

 Rheology 

modification for 

high-temperature 

applications

 Sensors and 

biosensors

 Security printing

 High-performance 

functional materials

 Hygiene products

 Renewable materials 

for meeting 

sustainability 

standards

 Environmentally 

“safe” actuators

 Personal care 

products that 

require low toxicity 

and that are 

renewable

 Low-cost 

reinforcements as 

fillers or fibers

 Additive in drilling 

fluids for the oil and 

gas industry

 Hydrogels

 Aerogels

 Absorbents/diapers

 Laminate and sheet 

applications

 Viscosity modifiers

 CNC use in 3-D 

printing

 CNF in commodity 

products, but CNC 

likely in specialty 

products

 Food additives to 

stabilize emulsions, 

modify viscosity, 

and enable tunable 

texture

 Cholesterol-lowering 

food additives as in 

bacterial cellulose 

and potentially 

enhancing taste

 Thixotropic additives

 Fiber-based 

packaging 

 Tamperproof 

packaging

 Light-weighting in 

carbonated bottles

 Reinforced 

polyethylene 

terephthalate (PET) 

composites for 

bottles (i.e., cellulose 

nanomaterial 

reinforcement)

 Rheological 

modifiers for 

processing and 

appearance

 Biodegradable 

packaging 

 Insulation materials 

for food and 

beverage

 Embedded sensors

 Reinforcing 

hydrophobic 

systems

 Biological 

scaffolding as used 

in tissue engineering

 Dielectrics in ultracapacitors

 Sensors based 

on piezoelectric 

properties 

of cellulose 

nanomaterials—

fluorescent and 

dosimetric detection

 Absorbency 

of cellulose 

nanomaterials for 

use in personal care 

products

 Health monitoring 

based on flexible 

electronics

 Functional materials 

harnessing dielectric 

and piezoelectric 

properties

 Scratch-resistant 

coatings

 Functionalized 

cellulose for EMI 

shielding

 Renewable energy 

storage—largesurface-area 

capacitors, batteries 

with high power 

density

 Oil-absorbing gels

 Nano/hydrogel 

foams

 Electronic substrates 

for integrated 

circuits, etc. 

 Oil and gas recovery; 

increasing oil-spill 

clean-up efficiency

 Aerogel insulation 

for buildings

 Wound healing 

applications such 

as wound healing 

membranes

 Replacement for 

petroleum-based 

products

 Smart structural 

materials 

that combine 

piezoelectric 

properties with 

good mechanical 

strength 

 Adhesives

 Water treatment

 Medical/pharma

4. Commercial Opportunities

12
Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

Introduction

In addition to identifying opportunities, 

stakeholders participating in the workshop 

considered the barriers and technical 

challenges to commercialization of cellulose 

nanomaterials. The challenges and barriers 

represent the “problems” to be solved in the 

commercialization of cellulose nanomaterials. 

The challenges and barriers provide a more 

concrete context for looking at the potential 

role of and priorities for R&D. 

Key Themes

The major themes to emerge across the 

panels were similar to those identified in the 

R&D section: the need for characterization 

and standards, production and processing 

methods; the need for better understanding 

of potential impact on environmental, health, 

and safety (EHS) issues; the need for market pull 

and cost/benefit analysis; and the challenge 

of dewatering cellulose nanomaterials; and 

technical readiness. Specifically, workshop 

participants identified the following technical 

challenges facing commercialization of 

cellulose nanomaterials:

 Need for Characterization and Standards: 

In order for a new material to be adopted 

for use, it must be well understood and 

end users must have confidence that the 

material is the same from one batch to the 

next. There is a need to better characterize 

cellulose nanomaterials with respect 

to their structure, surface properties, 

and performance. Development of new 

characterization methods, especially with 

respect to in situ measurements, may be 

required. Standard methods and materials 

also need to be developed to enable 

reproducibility and comparison with existing 

materials. End users need to be able to 

run cost/benefit comparisons of cellulose 

nanomaterials with respect to existing 

materials and calculate the return on 

investment (ROI) for switching to cellulose 

nanomaterials.

 Production and Processing Methods: 

Commercialization is inhibited by the lack 

of processing and production methods and 

know-how for ensuring uniform, reliable, 

and cost-effective production of cellulose 

nanomaterials, especially at large volumes. 

This is both a scale-up and a process control 

issue. Commercialization of cellulose 

nanomaterials into large volume markets 

will require order-of-magnitude increases in 

production capacity to ensure supply and 

lower costs. This level of production capacity 

has not been demonstrated, nor is largescale process equipment available. There 

is also a need for better process control 

5. Challenges and Barriers

According to The Technological 

Association of the Pulp and Paper 

Industry (TAPPI), scientists at the ITT 

Rayonier Eastern Research Division 

discovered microfibrillated cellulose 

(known as cellulose nanofibril today) 

by running a 3% slurry of chopped pulp 

fibers through a milk homogenizer. As 

ITT Rayonier gave free license to its 

patents to pulp customers, research 

organizations in Europe, Canada, Japan, 

and the United States continued to 

research CNC and CNF for a broad range 

of applications.

5. Challenges and Barriers

13
Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

capability to ensure quality, including 

nanoscale measurement and manipulation 

capabilities. A more streamlined and uniform 

production process would lower the cost of 

manufacturing cellulose nanomaterials and 

make them more competitive in the market.

 Need for More Complete EHS Information: 

Limited EHS information creates a significant 

barrier to commercialization because any 

uncertainty regarding material safety 

and the pending regulatory environment 

presents risk for early movers across all 

industries. Currently, there are limited 

data available regarding the EHS impact 

of cellulose nanomaterials, especially in 

the food, medical, and pharmaceutical 

industries. 

 Need for Market Pull and Cost/Benefit 

Performance: As noted earlier, cellulose 

nanomaterials have potential applications 

in a wide range of areas, but there is no 

single need that is driving their commercial 

development. Stakeholders suggested 

several reasons, including lack of awareness 

of the material and its properties and a 

need for better market understanding. 

Commercialization will require market pull 

in order to incentivize manufacturers, yet 

there is no perceptible demand for cellulose 

nanomaterials at the moment. In addition, 

many potential users will require large 

quantities of material with well-defined 

properties at a known cost beyond nearterm production capabilities. Producers 

currently do not have reliable information 

about the cost structure of the materials. 

Ultimately, a robust discussion between 

researchers, producers, and potential 

customers regarding what cellulose 

nanomaterials can do, what industry needs, 

and the cost/benefit ratio associated with 

each needs to be conducted. Public-private 

partnerships can play a significant role in 

facilitating this information exchange.

 Challenge of Dewatering/Drying: One of 

the most significant technical challenges 

identified is the dewatering of cellulose 

nanomaterials into a dry and usable form 

for incorporation into other materials. The 

lack of an energy-efficient, cost-effective 

drying process inhibits commercialization 

of cellulose nanomaterials, particularly 

for non-aqueous applications. Cellulose 

nanomaterials in low-concentration 

aqueous suspensions raise resource and 

transportation costs, which make them less 

viable commercially. 

 Technology Readiness: Technology 

readiness is a major challenge in the 

adoption of cellulose nanomaterials. One 

obstacle in developing a market for cellulose 

nanomaterials is the lack of information 

on the basic properties of different types 

of cellulose nanomaterials, as noted in the 

characterization and standards discussion. 

There is also a lack of understanding of the 

5. Challenges and Barriers

14
Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

performance of cellulose nanomaterials 

in their application environment. 

Furthermore, work is needed to improve 

the understanding of the surface properties 

of cellulose nanomaterials, including how 

to functionalize surfaces appropriately to 

improve their compatibility with matrix 

resins in composites and with aqueous 

and non-aqueous solvents. The need for 

thermal stability in manufacturing processes 

involving thermoplastic polymers (e.g., 

nylon and PET) is another example of a 

performance challenge in an application 

environment. 

Beyond these common themes, the 

panel discussions and breakout sessions 

generated a number of additional ideas and 

comments about the technical barriers to 

commercialization. These are presented in 

Table 2 on the next page. It should be noted 

that participants were asked to consider more 

general barriers to commercialization and 

identify the most significant ones for each 

market area. The results confirmed some of 

the key differences between the markets. For 

example, price/economics was identified as 

the most significant barrier in large volume 

applications but was behind material 

functionality, technology readiness, market 

awareness, and market acceptance for the 

specialty products area. For manufacturing 

and production of cellulose nanomaterials, 

price and material functionality were the most 

significant issues. 

Summary of Challenges and 

Barriers

The broad themes of the challenges identified 

by the stakeholders are indicative of their 

knowledge of the cellulose nanomaterials 

industry. The stakeholder input from the 

viewpoint of potential cellulose nanomaterials 

users included both technical and more 

general market-level challenges similar to 

those associated with most nascent technology 

industries. While their comments were helpful 

in identifying the most important themes 

and in giving a good sense of priority, it is 

clear that more detailed discussions within 

the USDA Forest Service and the National 

Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) are needed 

to take this input and convert it into specific 

activities and actions. By working with its 

formal and informal partners, the USDA Forest 

Service is well positioned to accomplish this, 

especially from a science and technology 

perspective, with its participation in the NNI; 

its interactions with other federal departments 

and agencies; its involvement in public-private 

partnerships such as P3Nano; its interactions 

with industry through entities such as the 

Agenda 2020 Technology Alliance; and its 

interactions with academia.

5. Challenges and Barriers

15
Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

Federal Panel Discussion Large Volume User Panel 

Discussion

Paper, Packaging, Food & 

Beverage Panel Discussion

Specialty Applications 

Panel Discussion

Manufacturing Panel 

Discussion

 Cellulose 

nanomaterials have 

limitations (e.g., 

thermal stability) 

that prevent simple 

substitutional 

comparison with 

other nanomaterials.

 High-performance 

composites. 

Achieving the 

performance 

potential of DW 

materials in a 

composite is then 

the critical technical 

challenge.

 Lack of know-how in 

using these materials 

in macro-structural 

elements

 For polymer-fiber 

composites, the 

barrier is the water 

absorption of the 

cellulose fibers.

 Dispersion 

of cellulose 

nanomaterials 

in different 

applications/

compatibility

 Need a focused 

program of work

 Availability of 

materials for startups

 Availability of 

materials at a costeffective level

 Funding for small 

businesses to get 

ideas of R&D into 

production

 Level of funding in 

the United States vs. 

the rest of the world

 High-margin 

exorbitant pricing 

of cellulose 

nanomaterials; 

pricing index

 Process/purification, 

recovery drying

 Materials property 

database

 Having the correct 

surface chemistry 

for non-aqueous 

applications

 Dispersion is key for 

strength.

 Understanding and 

controlling selfassembly of cellulose 

nanomaterials

 Lack of 

demonstration of 

macrostructures

 Retaining the 

benefits of cellulose 

nanomaterial 

reinforcement in 

composites

 Putting cellulose 

nanomaterials in 

engineered polymers 

such as nylons

 Sustainability/

lifetime of materials

 Recyclability

 Lack of focus in R&D 

efforts

 Removal of 

contaminants 

 Availability of 

feedstock

 Need for production 

cost analysis or price 

point for a specific 

application to work 

toward

 Interface stability

 Structure/property 

relationships

 Scale-up of acid 

hydrolysis method 

with respect to cost 

and disposal

 Reliability/

reproducibility

 Ability of the product 

to be combined with 

other materials

 The use of enzymeimmobilized 

cellulose 

nanomaterials 

for use in food 

packaging to 

improve anti-spoiling 

properties

 Stability and 

integrity of cellulose 

nanomaterials in 

packaging material

 Irreversible bonding 

of CNF upon drying

 Lack of applicationfocused R&D, 

including 

antibacterial, 

freshness, and 

exploring new uses

 How the materials 

may impact flavor

 Food—application 

work

 Barrier film 

performance under 

wet conditions/

hydrophobicity

 Functionalizing 

the cellulose 

nanomaterials to be 

hydrophobic

 Applications of 

CNF/CNC in/on 

paper/packaging—

retention coatings 

(on coating or size 

process)

 The ability to 

coat CNC or CNF 

effectively on paper 

(very low solids/high 

viscosity); application 

methods

 Product form and 

surface chemistry 

are important for 

polymeric packaging.

 Controlling 

interface between 

PET/polymer 

and cellulose 

nanomaterials

 Surface energy 

measurements for 

public databases

 Regulatory 

and consumer 

acceptance

 Technical challenges 

are to interface 

this technology 

with applications 

including biomedical 

point of care, etc.

 Providing CNC/

CNF in a dry, redispersible form that 

can be handled by 

the end users

 Low-cost 

hydrophobic 

treatment to 

incorporate in 

hydrophobic 

polymers

 Dealing with the 

hydrophobicity 

of cellulose 

nanomaterials

 Compatibility with 

non-aqueous resin 

systems

 Improving surface 

compatibility with 

suitable resins to 

attain high strength/

modulus; need 

to demonstrate ↑

stiffness/weight ratio

 CNC or CNF surface 

modification for 

combining with 

polymers

 High-gloss finish

 Dispersion in a broad 

range of materials

 Can CNC/CNF be 

used in PET polymer 

as an additive?

 What is the effect of 

CNC/CNF on haze/

color of clear PET 

polymer?

 Impact on PET 

recycling will need to 

be assessed.

 Lack of feedstock 

and consistent 

supply for 

manufacturing

 Barriers to entry in 

established markets 

(autos, aircraft, and 

electronics)

 Lack of 

characterization of 

size and shape

 Compatibility with 

resin in composites

 Microelectronics—

both electronic 

and cellulose 

nanomaterial 

substrate

 Lack of product 

development—

medical/etc.

 Hydrophobizing/

surface modification

 Lack of feedstock 

and consistent 

supply for 

manufacturing

 Regulatory 

uncertainty

 Process and quality 

control for large 

volume applications

 Functionalization

 Large-scale 

vs. distributed 

production

 Drying/redispersion

 Need for Materials 

Safety Data Sheets

 Throughput

 Desired 

specifications

Table 2: Panel-Specific Comments on Barriers

5. Challenges and Barriers

16
Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

6. R&D Roles and Priorities

Introduction

Whereas challenges and barriers represent the 

problems to be solved in the commercialization 

of cellulose nanomaterials, the R&D roles and 

priorities represent potential solutions. 

Key Themes

The most common themes to emerge across 

the panels and breakouts regarding the role of 

R&D in future cellulose nanomaterial activities 

included the following: environmental, health, 

and safety (EHS) research; collaboration; 

demonstration and scale-up; process and 

manufacturing innovation; drying and 

dewatering; characterization and development 

of standards; dispersion; performance cost/

benefit demonstration; and application 

innovation. Specific points of discussion by 

stakeholders at the workshop for each of these 

themes are summarized below:

 EHS Research: Additional research is 

required to understand the potential 

implications of cellulose nanomaterials 

on human health and the environment 

across the product lifecycle. Research foci 

should include as-manufactured materials 

as well as those with modification or 

functionalization that may change their 

toxicology. As scientific understanding of 

the EHS behavior of cellulose nanomaterials 

matures, standards in the EHS area and 

Materials Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) should 

be developed to ensure environmental 

protection and human safety. 

 Collaboration: Participants identified 

collaboration as a key need to accelerate 

commercialization of cellulose 

nanomaterials. Public-private partnerships 

help facilitate communication and 

leverage resources. Cross-sector dialogues 

help to inform users about the material 

properties and functionalities of cellulose 

nanomaterials and at the same time help 

researchers understand the properties 

and functionalities they need to expand 

in order to meet user needs. Partnerships 

and collaboration are essential to hone 

processing technologies, facilitate 

application innovation, and create more 

consistent funding opportunities for 

cellulose nanomaterials. 

 Demonstration and Scale-up: To move 

beyond pilot-scale production requires 

demonstration and scale-up projects to 

develop the manufacturing processes to 

produce cellulose nanomaterials at full scale 

with the desired properties. Characterization 

and quality control instrumentation and 

techniques need to be developed to ensure 

consistent material production. Future 

demonstration and scale-up projects will 

involve the production of more complex 

materials or structures, such as composites, 

where cellulose nanomaterials are an 

additive.

 Process and Manufacturing Innovation: 

R&D is needed to develop innovations in 

process control to make consistent materials, 

reduce overall energy use to lower costs, 

vertically integrate manufacturing, and 

generally reduce production costs to achieve 

a price point that fosters broader market 

application and penetration.

6. R&D Roles and Priorities

17
Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

 Drying/Dewatering: One of the most 

significant challenges identified, which 

impacts all potential application areas, is 

the need to remove the water from the 

cellulose nanomaterials to reduce shipping 

cost and enable compatibility with solventbased systems. Research is needed to focus 

on how to remove the water from the 

system efficiently without destroying the 

nanoscale material properties or resulting in 

agglomeration. 

 Characterization/Development of 

Standards: Further research is needed 

to fully characterize the structure and 

performance of cellulose nanomaterials, 

including both CNCs and CNFs as well as 

their surface-modified forms. Standard 

materials and methods need to be 

developed to ensure material properties 

are consistent. As understanding matures, 

materials performance sheets should be 

developed to communicate attributes with 

potential end users. 

 Dispersion: R&D is needed to develop 

understanding and methods to enable 

dispersion of cellulose nanomaterials in 

the desired matrix material. The required 

surface modification may be matrix and/or 

application-specific and would benefit from 

strong interaction between the research 

community and end users.

 Performance Cost/Benefit Demonstration 

and Analysis: The advances in the research 

areas identified above should be utilized to 

develop cost/benefit demonstration and 

analysis. Market-specific research would 

help identify price targets for materials 

producers and enable calculation of return 

on investment. Performance-based analysis 

from advances in characterization and 

standards will enable end users to analyze 

the benefits of substituting cellulose 

nanomaterials for existing materials. 

 Application Innovation: R&D could further 

commercialization by exploring highvalue functional properties of cellulose 

nanomaterials and developing new 

applications for the materials. This type of 

translational R&D would be applicationdriven and focused on leveraging 

the functional properties of cellulose 

nanomaterials to discover new, valueadded uses and expand understanding 

of the unique contribution that cellulose 

nanomaterials can provide in different 

applications. This area of research would 

require a more precise understanding and 

control of functional properties of cellulose 

nanomaterials. Initiatives could include the 

funding of a prototyping center, feasibility 

studies in collaboration with potential 

customers, and initial testing of new product 

performance for market sustainability. 

Beyond these common themes, each panel 

discussion generated a number of additional 

ideas and comments about the role that R&D 

could play. These are presented in Table 3 on 

the next page.

Summary of R&D Priorities 

The stakeholder comments included both 

technical and market-related research needs. 

Significant technical research priorities that will 

impact all potential application areas included 

dewatering, dispersion, characterization of 

properties and performance, standards, and 

EHS behavior.

6. R&D Roles and Priorities

18
Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

Federal Panel Discussion Large Volume User Panel 

Discussion

Paper, Packaging, 

Food & Beverage Panel 

Discussion

Specialty Applications 

Panel Discussion

Manufacturing Panel 

Discussion

 Wood fiber 

reinforcement 

 Develop lowcost, effective 

hydrophobization 

treatment for highsurface-area cellulose 

nanomaterials

 Fund cellulose 

nanomaterial research 

on sensor development

 Need to explore 

how trees/plants can 

be manipulated to 

produce designer 

nanomaterials versus 

what nature provides

 Government-funded 

prototyping center 

available on for-fee 

basis

 Dispersion 

technologies

 Improve hightemperature 

performance

 Interfacing and 

stabilizing

 Large-scale 

manufacturing 

must be preceded 

by funding research 

for small pilot 

manufacturing.

 All these largevolume applications 

need nonprecompetitive 

industry-based 

research and market 

development.

 Research data 

for durability, 

biodegradability, 

performance with 

varying humidity 

and temperature

 Looking at the 

immobilization 

of enzymes 

on cellulose 

nanomaterials 

and applying this 

to packaging for 

antimicrobial 

properties

 Control of hydrogen 

bonding, drying, and 

dewatering

 Control over water 

absorption on CNF/

CNC surface; tuning 

hydrophilicity and 

oleophilicity

 Enabling coating 

of the lowconcentration 

CNC/CNF without 

warping/shrinking 

the paper board 

product

 Controlling interface 

and stability 

through chemical 

modification/

functionalization

 Food preservation to 

replace questionable 

chemicals

 Multivitamins, bread 

conditioners, and 

emulsifiers

 LCA is needed to 

justify CNC/CNFenabled products

 Understanding 

interactions 

between cellulose 

nanomaterials and 

foods

 CNC or CNF without 

losing “nano” 

properties

 Comparison of 

CNC, CNF, and CF 

(cellulose filaments)

 Fund R&D for 

medical sensors 

used for point-ofcare diagnostics

 Growth and 

manufacture of 

material

 Stability of material 

under temperature 

and water 

environments

 Technology 

advancement 

to prevent 

agglomeration 

of nanoparticles 

when dried. This 

limits strength 

performance in 

composites.

 Taking something 

hydrophilic and 

putting into 

hydrophobic 

applications will 

have some cost—

is this a show 

stopper?

 Exploiting 

piezoelectric and 

optical properties

 Properties as a 

function of crystal 

structure, size, 

purity, aspect ratio, 

and structure

 Public outreach

 Disperse cellulose 

nanomaterial 

particles in resins

 New methods for 

generating CNC/CNF 

to provide greater 

stability

 Processing method 

that avoids water 

(stream, solvent)

 Surface adhesion 

between resin 

and cellulose 

nanomaterial particle

 Surface chemistry 

support for surface 

modification

 Surface modification 

of cellulose 

nanomaterials to 

improve adhesion

 Flexibility to 

adjust or adopt 

recommendations 

 Funding to scale 

up products 

or of cellulose 

nanomaterial sheets 

for a wide range of 

applications

 Program to 

provide funding 

to companies that 

can move rapidly to 

market

 To produce 

nanotechnologyenabled products 

with effective cost

Table 3: Panel Specific Ideas/Comments on R&D

6. R&D Roles and Priorities

19

Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

7. Path Forward

This workshop builds on past efforts to explore 

the market potential of cellulose nanomaterials 

applications and enable commercialization 

through R&D advancement. The specific focus 

of the workshop was to use a market-based 

approach to draw out input from a wide range 

of stakeholders and facilitate a collaborative 

dialogue across government, academia, and 

industry. The results of the workshop will be 

used to inform Forest Service R&D planning 

for cellulose nanomaterials and the broader 

National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) 

nanomanufacturing R&D activities.

 In this regard, two points are worth noting. 

The first is in regard to the economics of 

cellulose nanomaterials. The theme of cost 

and cost structure came up repeatedly 

during the workshop dialogue. It is clear that 

more work needs to be done in this regard, 

especially given that uncertainty around the 

economics of cellulose nanomaterials impedes 

commercialization. However, it is also important 

to recognize that there are significant 

indicators for the economic viability of cellulose 

nanomaterials. In other words, it is reasonable 

for commercialization efforts to move 

forward with the expectation that cellulose 

nanomaterials will end up being abundant and 

affordable.

Second, the workshop dialogue raised the 

issue of awareness. In spite of all the efforts 

to this point, there remains a significant 

lack of awareness about what cellulose 

nanomaterials are, how they may be used, 

and the benefits that they can provide. In 

other words, awareness remains a significant 

barrier to commercialization. While awareness 

is not directly a technical R&D issue, the Forest 

Service and the NNI recognize that they have 

an important role to play in this regard. Going 

forward, the cellulose nanomaterials research 

agenda should include promoting market 

awareness of cellulose nanomaterials.

7. Path Forward

21

Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

Appendix A. List of Participants

First Name Last Name Organization

Omar Ali Herty AMDC - Georgia Southern University

Jun Amano Konica Minolta Laboratory USA

Howard Andres Energetics Incorporated

Jewel Beamon National Nanotechnology Coordination Office

Yvonne Beltzer Freelance Journalist

Dean Benjamin NewPage Corp.

Cristina Bilbao-Sainz U.S. Department of Agriculture

Michael Bilodeau University of Maine

Arthur Blazer U.S. Department of Agriculture

Steven Bloembergen EcoSynthetix Corporation

Jean Bouchard FPInnovations

Rolf Butters National Institute of Standards Technology

Michell Cahill GL&V USA, Inc.

Richard Canady ILSI Research Foundation

Chris Cannizzaro U.S. Department of State

Altaf Carim Office of Science and Technology Policy

Bernard Cathala NANTES (France)

Hongda Chen U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service

Bor-Sen Chiou U.S. Department of Agriculture

Fan-Li Chou U.S. Department of Agriculture

Tatiana Contreras Energetics Incorporated

Beth Cormier Sappi Fine Paper, NA

Jed Costanza U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Daniel Coughlin ITECS

John Cowie Cowie & Company LLC

Cheryl David-Fordyce National Nanotechnology Coordination Office

Chelsea Davis National Institute of Standards and Technology

Braz Demuner Fibria Celulose S.A.

D. Andrew Dill University of Georgia

Paul Durocher Sappi Fine Paper

Travis Earles Lockheed Martin

Adrienne Eastlake National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Cliff Eberle Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Appendix A. List of Participants

A1
Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

First Name Last Name Organization

J. Vincent Edwards Agricultural Research Service, Southern Regional Research Service

Britt Erickson Chemical & Engineering News

Martin Fairbank Resolute Forest Products

Celia Feldpausch Brazil Industries Coalition

Aaron Forster National Institute of Standards and Technology

Lisa Friedersdorf National Nanotechnology Coordination Office

Anne Galyean University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Charles Gause AxNano, LLC

Charles Geraci National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Marc Gerrer GL&V USA, Inc.

Jeffrey Gilman National Institute of Standards and Technology

Michael Goergen P3Nano

Gopal Goyal International Paper

David Haldane Innovatech Engineering

Fred Hansen Energetics Incorporated

Jaydee Hanson International Center for Technology Assessment

Mark Harmer DuPont

Geoffrey Holdridge National Nanotechnology Coordination Office

Joel Howard Applied Biorefinery Sciences, LLC

Liangbing Hu University of Maryland College Park

Matthew Hull Virginia Tech

Sean Ireland Verso Paper Corp.

Debra Kaiser National Institute of Standards and Technology

Thomas Kalil Office of Science and Technology Policy

Jonathan Kelley Energetics Incorporated

Michael Kiley National Nanotechnology Coordination Office

Robert Knotts Georgia Institute of Technology

Mary Kombolias United States Government Printing Office

Sridhar Kota University of Michigan

Sandeep Kulkarni PepsiCo

Joyce Lin U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Joanne Littlefair U.S. Department of Commerce

Christopher Luettgen Kimberly-Clark Corporation

Zhenqiang (Jack) Ma University of Wisconsin-Madison

Martha Marrapese Keller and Heckman LLP

Appendix A. List of Participants

A2
Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

First Name Last Name Organization

Norman Marsolan Georgia Tech IPST

Rebecca Massello Energetics Incorporated

Keeley McCoy Energetics Incorporated

Leslie McLain IMERYS

Michael Meador NASA Glenn Research Center

Robert Moon U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service

Jean Moreau CelluForce Inc.

Shelah Morita National Nanotechnology Coordination Office

Vladimir Murashov National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Kim Nelson American Process Inc.

Marlowe Newman National Nanotechnology Coordination Office

World Nieh U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service

Mary Beth O’Brien U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Brian O’Connor FPInnovations

Gloria Oporto West Virginia University

Soydan Ozcan Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Nicholas Panaro Leidos Biomedical Research

Mohan Panga Schlumberger

Michael Pannell Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Brian Paul National Institute of Standards and Technology

Fritz Paulsen KapStone Paper & Packaging

Susan Pell American Association for the Advancement of Science

Diana Petreski National Nanotechnology Coordination Office

Aimee Poda Army Corps of Engineers

Michael Postek National Institute of Standards and Technology

Girish Ramakrishnan Stony Brook University

Asif Rasheed U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Orlando Rojas North Carolina State University

Kristin Roy National Nanotechnology Coordination Office

Alan Rudie USDA Forest Products Laboratory

Sangmeshwar Sangmule Inland Label

Kenneth Schelling Southworth / Paperlogic

Jessica Schiavone Energetics Incorporated

Gary Senatore Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Lewis Shackford GL&V USA, Inc.

Appendix A. List of Participants

A3
Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

First Name Last Name Organization

Prabodh Shah U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Amy Shalom USDA APHIS

Paul Shapiro U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Jo Anne Shatkin Vireo Advisors, LLC

Dev Shenoy U.S. Department of Energy

Yoram Shkedi Melodea Ltd.

Meisha Shofner Georgia Institute of Technology

Manoj Shukla Army Engineer Research and Development Center

John Simonsen Oregon State University

David Skuse IMERYS

James Snyder Army Research Laboratory

Edward Socci PepsiCo

Qiong Song State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry

Erik Svedberg The National Academies

Daniel Sweeney Emergent Properties, LLC

Mehdi Tajvidi University of Maine

Yannick Tamm Energetics Incorporated

Clayton Teague Consultant

Treye Thomas Consumer Product Safety Commission

Jesyca Turner Innovatech Engineering

Nick Viggiani Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Jesko von Windheim Duke University

Greg Weatherman AeroSolver

Theodore Wegner U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service

Cynthia West U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Lloyd Whitman National Nanotechnology Coordination Office

Gloria Wiens Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office (AMNPO)

Hongli Zhu University of Maryland College Park

Appendix A. List of Participants

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Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

Appendix B. Workshop Organizers

Title First Name Last Name Organization Position

Dr. World L.S. Nieh** USDA Forest Service, Washington 

Office

National Program Lead, Forest 

Products

Dr. Lisa Friedersdorf** National Nanotechnology 

Coordination Office Deputy Director

Dr. Hongda Chen USDA National Institute for Food and 

Agriculture

National Program Leader, Bioprocess 

Engineering/Nanotechnology

Mr. Michael Goergen U.S. Endowment for Forestry and 

Communities Director, P3

Nano

Mr. Sean Ireland Verson Paper Corp. Manager, New Technologies and 

Market Ventures

Dr. Sandeep Kalkarni PepsiCo Technical Manager

Dr. Michael Meador NASA Game Changing Development 

Program Nanotechnology Project, Manager

Dr. Theodore H. Wegner USDA Forest Service, Forest Products 

Laboratory Assistant Director

** Co-Chair

Appendix B. Workshop Organizers

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Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

Appendix C. Workshop Agenda

Cellulose Nanomaterials – A Path Towards Commercialization

May 20 -21, 2014

USDA Conference and Training Center,

Washington D.C.

Workshop Agenda

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

8:00 am – 8:30 am Registration

Breakfast and Coffee 

8:30 am - 8:45 am Welcoming Remarks

Mr. Arthur “Butch” Blazer, Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, 

USDA

8:45 am – 9:15 am Opening Remarks – Day 1 

Mr. Thomas Kalil, Deputy Director for Technology and Innovation, OSTP

9:15 am – 9:45 am Cellulose Nanomaterials – Technical State of the Art

Dr. Robert Moon, Materials Research Engineer, Forest Products Laboratory and IPST at Ga 

Tech

9:45 am – 10:00 am Charge to the Workshop

Dr. World Nieh, National Program Lead, Forest Products, USDA Forest Service

10:00 – 10:20 am Break

10:20 am – 12:00 pm Federal Panel

Dr. Cynthia West, Associate Deputy Chief for R&D, USDA Forest Service

Mr. Thomas Kalil, Deputy Director for Technology and Innovation, OSTP 

Dr. Dev Shenoy, Chief Engineer, AMO, EERE, DOE 

Dr. Michael Meador, Nanotechnology Program Manager, Game Changing Technology, 

NASA Glenn Research Center

Dr. Charles Geraci, Coordinator, Nanotechnology Research Center, National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

Each Panelist will speak for 10 minutes followed by a facilitated Q&A and Open discussion

Appendix C. Workshop Agenda

C1
Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

12 pm – 1:30 pm Lunch

Keynote: Revitalizing American Manufacturing Putting "&" Back into R&D

Dr. Sridhar Kota, Herrick Professor of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, University of 

Michigan

1:30 pm – 3:00 pm Large Volume User Panel

Mr. Travis Earles, Senior Manager, Advanced Materials & Nanotechnology Initiatives, 

Lockheed Martin 

Dr. Soydan Ozcan, Staff Scientist, Oak Ridge National Laboratory 

Dr. Orlando Rojas, Professor, Departments of Forest Biomaterials and Chemical & 

Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University

Each Panelist will speak for 10 minutes followed by a facilitated Q&A and Open discussion

3:00 pm – 3:20 pm Break 

3:20 pm – 4:50 pm Paper, Packaging, Food and Beverage Panel

Ms. Beth Cormier, Vice President for R&D and Technology, SAPPI Paper

Dr. Ed Socci, Director of Beverage Packaging, PepsiCo Advanced Research

Dr. Bernard Cathala, Group Leader of Nanostructured Assemblies and Deputy Director of 

the Biopolymer, Interaction and Assembly Unit, National Agronomical Research Institute, 

Nantes, France 

Each Panelist will speak for 10 minutes followed by a facilitated Q&A and Open discussion

4:50 pm – 5:00 pm Closing Remarks of the Day

Mr. Sean Ireland, Manager of New Technologies and Market Ventures, Verso Paper 

5:00 pm Adjourn

Appendix C. Workshop Agenda

C2
Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

8:00 am – 8:30 am Registration

Breakfast and Coffee 

8:30 am – 8:45 am Recap of Day 1 and Expectations for Day 2

Dr. Lisa Friedersdorf, Senior Scientist, NNCO

8:45 am – 9:00 am Opening Remarks – Day 2

Dr. Altaf Carim, Assistant Director for Nanotechnology, OSTP 

9:00 am – 10:30 am Specialty Applications Panel

Dr. Zhenqiang “Jack” Ma, University of Wisconsin

Dr. Cliff Eberle, Technical Development Manager, Carbon and Composites, ORNL

Dr. Brian O’Connor, Program Manager – Environment, FPInnovations

Each Panelist will speak for 10 minutes followed by a facilitated Q&A and Open discussion

10:30 am – 10:45 am Break

10:45 am – 12:15 pm Challenges and Opportunities in Manufacturing Panel

Dr. Kim Nelson, Vice President for Government Affairs, API

Mr. Jean Moreau, CEO, CelluForce

Mr. Mike Bilodeau, Director, Process Development Center, University of Maine

Mr. Yoram Shkedi, CEO, Melodea

Each Panelist will speak for 10 minutes followed by a facilitated Q&A and Open discussion

12:15 pm – 1:20 pm Lunch

Introduction to P3Nano

Mr. Michael Goergen, Director, P3Nano

1:20 pm – 1:30 pm Reconvene session, charge for breakout (Fred Hanson, Energetics)

1:30 pm – 3:30 pm

Four breakouts in the same room

Breakout 1: Large 

Volume Users

Breakout 2: Paper, 

Packaging and 

Food

Breakout 3: 

Specialty 

Applications 

Breakout 4: 

Challenges and 

Opportunities in 

Manufacturing

3:30 pm - 3:45 pm Break 

3:45 pm – 4:30 pm Breakout Reports and Discussion

Dr. World Nieh, USDA Forest Service and Mr. Fred Hansen, Energetics

4:30 pm – 4:45 pm Closing Remarks

Dr. Ted Wegner, Assistant Director, USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory 

4:45 pm Adjourn

Appendix C. Workshop Agenda

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Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

Appendix D. Additional Resources

Workshop

1. Cellulose Nanomaterials: A Path Towards 

Commercialization Workshop. [Online] 

June 2014. www.nano.gov/ncworkshop.

National Nanotechnology Initiative

2. National Nanotechnology Initiative. 

[Online] www.nano.gov.

3. The National Nanotechnology Initiative 

Supplement to the President’s 2015 Budget. 

Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, 

Engineering and Technology, National 

Science and Technology Council. 2014.

4. National Nanotechnology Strategic Plan. 

Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, 

Engineering and Technology, National 

Science and Technology Council. 2014.

5. Nanotechnology Signature 

Initiatives. [Online] www.nano.gov/

signatureinitiatives.

Markets

6. Cowie, John, et al. Market projections of 

cellulose nanomaterials-enabled products 

– Part 2: Volume estimates. TAPPI Journal. 

2014, Vol. 13, 6, pp. 57–69.

Scientific Reviews

7. Eichhorn, S J, et al. Review: Current 

international research into cellulose 

nanofibres and nanocomposites. J Mater 

Sci. 2010, Vol. 45, pp. 1–33.

8. Eichhorn, Stephen J. Cellulose 

nanowhiskers: Promising materials for 

advanced applications. Soft Matter. 2011, 

Vol. 7, 2.

9. Eichhorn, Stephen J and Bandini, 

Alessandro. Materials from renewable 

resources. MRS Bulletin. March 2010, Vol. 35, 

3, pp. 187–193.

10. Moon, Robert J, et al. Cellulose 

nanomaterials review: Structure, properties 

and nanocomposites. Chem. Soc. Rev. 2011, 

Vol. 40, pp. 3941–3994.

11. Klemm, Dieter, et al. Nanocellulose: A 

new family of Nature-based materials. 

Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 

June 6, 2011, Vol. 50, 24, pp. 5438–5466.

Books

12. Postek, Michael T, et al. Production and 

Application of Cellulose Nanomaterials. 

Peachtree Corner: TAPPI Press, 2013. ISBN: 

978-1-59510-224-9.

International Standards

13. Roadmap for the Development of 

International Standards for Nanocellulose. 

[Online] 2011. www.tappinano.org/pdf/

RoadmapforNanocelluloseStandards.pdf.

14. CSA Z5100-14 Cellulose Nanomaterials –

Test Methods for Characterization. s.l. : CSA 

Group, 2014.

Appendix D. Additional Resources

D1
Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

Science News Reports

15. Erickson, Britt. Transforming 

nanocellulose. Chemical and Engineering 

News. June 9, 2014, Vol. 92, 23, pp. 26–27.

16. Jacoby, Mitch. Nano from the forest. 

Chemical and Engineering News. June 30, 

2014, Vol. 92, 26, pp. 9–12.

Selected Publications

17. Boluk, Yaman, et al. Suspension 

viscosities and shape parameter of 

cellulose nanocrystals (CNC). Colloids and 

Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering 

Aspects. March 2011, Vol. 377, 1–3, pp. 

297–303.

18. Csoka, Levente, et al. Piezoelectric effect 

of cellulose nanocrystals thin films. ACS 

Macro Letters. 2012, Vol. 1, 7, pp. 867–870.

19. Fang, Zhiqiang, et al. Novel 

nanostructured paper with ultrahigh 

transparency and ultrahigh haze for solar 

cells. Nano Letters. 2014, Vol. 14, 2, pp. 

765–773.

20. Pu, Yunqiao, et al. Investigation into 

nanocellulosic versus acacia reinforced 

acrylic films. Composites Part B: Engineering. 

April 2007, Vol. 38, 3, pp. 360–366.

21. Saito, Tsuguyuki, et al. Individualization 

of nano-sized plant cellulose fibrils 

by direct surface carboxylation using 

TEMPO catalyst under neutral conditions. 

Biomacromolecules. 2009, Vol. 10, 7, pp. 

1992–1996.

22. Zhou, Yinhua, et al. Recyclable organic 

solar cells on cellulose nanocrystal 

substrates. Scientific Reports. March 2013, 

3:1536.

23. Roco, Mihail C. Environmentally 

responsible development of 

nanotechnology. Environmental Science & 

Technology. March 1, 2005, Vol. 39, 5, pp. 

106A–112A.

24. Kapanen, A, et al. Toxicity and 

Characteristics of Microfibrillated Cellulose 

in Kinetic Luminescent Bacteria Test 

Environment. VTT Technical Research 

Center of Finland and UPM Research 

Center.

Appendix D. Additional Resources

D2
Cellulose Nanomaterials Workshop Report – August 2014

Appendix E. References

Erickson, Britt E. 2014. “Transforming 

Nanocellulose.” Chemical & 

Engineering News, June 9. 

Ireland, Sean, Phil Jones, Robert J. Moon, 

Ted Wegner, and World Nieh. 

2014. “Cellulose Nanomaterials: 

Technical State of Art.” PowerPoint 

presentation at NNI and USDA-Forest 

Service Workshop on Cellulose 

Nanomaterials, Washington, DC, 

May. 

Moon, Robert, and Colleen Walker. 

2012. “Research into Cellulose 

Nanomaterials Spans the 

Globe.” Paper360 7(3): 32–34. 

EBSCOhost. Accessed June 17, 2014.

NIST (National Institute of Standards and 

Technology). 2008. Cross-Industry 

Issues in Nanomanufacturing. 

Gaithersburg, MD: NIST, May 20–22.

Appendix E. References

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