N.B. Nair
Bangalore (ISJ): Young Gadhadhar Reddy’s scientific temperament was challenged during his endless debates with his grandpa, who tried to explain the meaning of life. Reddy’s grandpa used to tell him, this universe is a maya, or illusion and there was nothing you can really do as everything was pre-set or pre-destined. His explanations to the probing young mind made no sense and he posed more questions to his grandpa, who told him the story of Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Swami Vivekananda.
"Ramakrishna was frequently questioned by Vivekananda, and one day when Ramakrishna touched Vivekananda, the latter received an electric shock and came to understand the reality of the cosmos. My grandpa and I used to dispute back and forth about the possibility that Ramakrishna Paramahansa had been sitting still for a prolonged period of time during the winter and had produced static energy, which would have charged onto Vivekananda. I looked everywhere, but I was unable to locate any mention of such a discussion between Ramakrishna and Vivekananda" Reddy narrated his encounters with his grandfather in detail, which increased his curiosity about space.
Reddy, who had his training in molecular science and nanotechnology, was attracted to space after a visit to Vainu Bappu Observatory near Bangalore, one of the largest observatories in Asia. That was when he decided to work on space.
“When I learned more about space, I understood that the chances are stacked against me to travel to space. I knew the odds would be considerably worse if I wanted to be the first person from India and I calculated the likelihood as decreasing. If I go to another country, I wouldn't be the first person to travel to; instead, it should be a fall-on mission, such as a private expedition. I then considered what would be required for a private mission. If it doesn't make money for people, no one will invest in it. People must believe they can genuinely travel to space for it to be lucrative. That is how it gradually made its way backward, step up by step to a material that was a major issue and I started working on the material,” he said about shaping up his dream into a reality. This is how the startup NoPo Nanotechnologies came into being in Bangalore.
“I got a moral boost further when I read a book titled Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill- If we set an audacious goal and if we work everything towards it, and if we are aware of what is happening around it, then you can definitely reach any goal.
Thus, the goal and intent were set. As Reddy, after his training in nanotechnology, and a small team of like-minded scientists started work on material for spacecraft – nanotubes, they found 135 applications for it. “Nanotubes are one of the most versatile materials because of some incredible properties that are packed into a single material. We found nanotubes also exhibit electronic properties. Nanotubes can transport water molecules without any friction. So, when we have the right size of nanotubes; they can transfer water up to 100 times faster than biological membranes which in any way is 100 times better than any synthetic membrane we have. This would lead to water filtration systems that are significantly more efficient than current technologies. The techniques used to fine-tune Nanotubes for water have led to single-diameter nanotubes. These can also be used in future electronics for faster chips with more density.”
What is a nanotube?
Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes are tiny tubes of Carbon; 200,000x smaller than a hair strand. They exhibit very high strength, semi-conductivity, fast water transport, and high conductivity.
The material was discovered 30 years ago and has proven itself in laboratories. Reddy and his team have solved the problem of manufacturing it consistently at an industrial scale. “Our customers say that we make the finest nanotubes; as attested by peer-reviewed articles in leading journals.”
Nanotubes are radiation resistant, meaning they can both stop and withstand radiation. A high-density material that can block the radiation beams or a material that does not deteriorate when exposed to radiation is needed to stop radiation. Radiation has no effect on carbon's ability to endure it; radiation does not cause it to deteriorate. The fact that carbon can survive severe radiation is another reason why the majority of nuclear reactors use coils built of the material.
In India, spacefaring is the monopoly of the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). But what ISRO needs is a few steps ahead of what we have created now. First you need a base material, a raw material, and from that raw material you need an application. So, ISRO for the most part looks for a material that they can readily use. They don’t have the capacity to actually develop a solution to use the material. The tubes we make now are of a few microns and what ISRO requires is sheets and plates, which they can directly utilise or even a finished product like a propellant tank.
We are also working with some companies for use of the material in batteries with its electrical conductivity and high strength which allows the batteries to work better. It is also being used as stealth coating on some of the latest fighter jets. We have also found its use in gene sequencing because they exhibit a property called photoluminescence. These are just a few samplings of its applications. Besides the material can also be used in cancer treatment, cosmetics, sunscreens, displays, lights, bulbs, etc.
Nanotechnology, highly capital intensive
It is capital intensive, so Reddy and his team took a very frugal approach. “Many people before me, including many state agencies had tried to make nanotubes. The major issue they faced was they would run out of money before they could create anything tangible. One of the first thing I did was to pull out their bankruptcy documents to understand whatever I could from it. I realised that one of the major cost factors when you develop a new piece of technology, is its unpredictability and we have to face, and solve the challenges one by one. We cannot invest the money and solve all the problems, that is never a solution.”
The strategy adopted by NoPo Technologies was to invest in core equipment that was absolutely essential that could be reused and re-utilised. They manufactured experimental systems at their machine shops– they set up a machine shop where they can fabricate things rapidly. Secondly, the team bought used or second-hand things wherever possible, and thirdly, they utilised national resources.
“India actually spends a humongous amount of money on equipment and items through various programmes. To me, throughout my education, I have won various scholarships from the government. I utilised facilities like Bangalore IISc. But more than IISc, I utilised the CMTI (Central Manufacturing Technology Institute). They have a nanometrology laboratory. Over time, new facilities emerged in Bangalore, and we have signed MoUs and collaborations with all of them so that we could get access to equipment as industrial users. That way, even though we had very limited capital to play with, we made each rupee give a lot more than it could,” explained Reddy on overcoming resource limitations.
Reddy said, his company is in talks with different entities and various research agencies. Tesla is one company that has reached out for using the material developed by them in batteries. They also had talks with Toyota.
NoPo Nanotechnologies also received grants and support from Karnataka government, the federal Science & Technology Department, Defence Ministry, Indian Navy, Niti Ayog, TATA Trusts, and Atal Innovation Mission.
Image Courtesy: NoPo Nanotechnologies
