Nanotechnology enables us to control and build materials at molecular or atomic level. This will allow us to manufacture innovative products with higher performances, which will contribute more and more to the objectives of an improved quality of life for the citizens, and of a sustainable development. These markets are quantified in billions of Euro. But nanotechnology cannot be defined only in terms of dimensions. In fact, nanotechnology represents a convergence of the traditional disciplines of physics, of chemistry and of biology, towards a common research frontier, the atom or the molecule.
Nanotechnology addresses all types of material, whether they be inorganic or organic.
The future of nanotechnology lies in its multidisciplinary approach. Nanotechnology will bring completely new materials and devices, to be used in the majority of societal sectors. The press file provides examples of research currently in progress. I would like to highlight one, which illustrates perfectly the technological jump that nanotechnology can generate. As you know carbon is used in the batteries, as an electrode material.