Development of a cost estimating framework for nanotechnology based products

Abstract

Nanotechnology materials and products are more and more used in different industry sectors. Due to the novelty and complexity, cost of nanotechnology materials and products are not well understood, which in many cases implies risk in business. This paper develops a framework to estimate the cost of nanotechnology materials and products, it aims to help manufactures to better understand the cost of nanotechnology materials or products at design stage. Expert interviews were conducted to validate the cost estimation logic. It is concluded that the approach and framework developed is able to estmate the cost of nanotechnology based products reasonably but reliable industry standard data will be needed to achieve that. © Springer-Verlag London Limited 2009.