GENERAL COMPANY NEWS
• Nanogen's "solid institutional investors" have pledged $20 million in funding through a series of senior convertible notes and warrants. The firm's products include a NanoChip electronic microarray platform and a line of rapid, point-of-care diagnostic tests.
"This financing provides the company with a vehicle for long-term, continued investment in the company and allows us to focus on our core objectives of managing the business and improving our EBITDA performance," said Howard Birndorf, chairman and CEO of Nanogen.
• Octillion, a developer of electricity generating coatings for window glass, plans to bolster its management team with experts in commercial solar and photovoltaics.
"The last few quarters have been very exciting for Octillion, having achieved and surpassed several major milestones in the development of our NanoPower windows," explained Harmel Rayat, president and CEO of Octillion. "It's now time to engage a seasoned management team with specific expertise in the development and commercialization of solar and photovoltaic technologies that is able to make the most of our success in the lab by moving our technology aggressively along the commercial development path."
• Tescan, a European manufacturer of scanning electron microscopes, has appointed the ISS Group as its distributor for the UK and Ireland. ISS describes itself as a one-stop facility for characterizing materials at the nano and microscale and has more than 30 years experience serving the electron microscopy community. Founded in Brno in the Czech Republic in 1991, Tescan has supplied more than 400 systems worldwide.
• Industrial Nanotech has awarded Czech/Hungary/Slovakian distribution rights for its Nansulate product line to Sperka Izol.
"We welcome Sperka Izol as our newest international distributor," commented Francesca Crolley, vice president of operations and marketing for Industrial Nanotech. "Nansulate has been well received in Europe and these regions present a rich market opportunity for Industrial Nanotech's products. We feel Industrial Nanotech's energy saving, corrosion resistant and mold resistant Nansulate line of coatings will make a significant impact to the fast-developing regions of Eastern Europe."
CONFERENCES AND EVENTS
• Patent-DfMM, a network of excellence in the field of design for micro and nanomanufacture, is running a four-day workshop in the UK dubbed fighting the micro- nanosystems manufacturing challenges. Organized together with INTEGRAMplus, a Europractice technology access initiative, the event provides an opportunity to gain awareness of new funding opportunities within the UK and EU FP7 and will address solutions for accessing technologies, engineering services and business support.
• The second Dye Solar Cell (DSC) Industrialisation Conference will take place in St. Gallen, Switzerland on September 11–13 as part of this year's NanoEurope trade fair. With a focus on taking technology from the lab into the market, the conference will be of interest to renewable energy investors seeking real data on DSC. The programme features plenary speaker Michael Graetzel and an impressive list of Swiss and international keynote speakers from throughout Europe, the USA, China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand.
Don't forget that you can view hundreds of upcoming nanotechnology shows, workshops and courses; and upload details on your own event by visiting nanotechweb.org's interactive events tool.