M-TEchX, the Tokyo-headquartered pioneer in nanotechnology, signed a $500 million deal with the UAE-based BNP Group to set up an advanced nanofibre production plant in Jebel Ali, Dubai.
The plant will be operational by the end of next year and will generate hundreds of new jobs, the entities said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
Especially beneficial to the UAE’s fast-growing, knowledge-based economy and the wider Middle East, the nanofibre plant will impart vital knowledge transfer to UAE-based operatives, they said.
It will enable regional companies to “start their own locally sustainable nanofibre business and create all-round employment opportunities while contributing substantially to the ‘Made in the UAE programme’”.
M-TEchX is known for inventing the super material known as “magic fibre”, a special nanofibre made with nanotechnology that has a thickness of only a few nanometres.
The global nanotechnology market size is expected to reach more than $290.9 billion in 2028, from $75.8bn last year, growing at an annual rate of about 18.3 per cent, Emergen Research reported.
Invented and patented by M-TEchX, magic fibre made its first appearance in the Middle East at the Planet Japan exhibition at the Expo 2020 Dubai site this month.
“Due to our presence at the exhibition, we were able to have very practical discussions with BNP Group and Sheikha Mouza Investment and Consulting, our local partners, involving the set-up of our cutting-edge nanofibre technology plant in the UAE,” Hiroyoshi Sota, chief executive of M-TEchX, said.
“This scenario marks the beginning of our new business collaboration with the UAE.”
Magic fibre is safe for medical use as the product does not contain harmful substances such as formaldehyde, arsenic, mercury or chromium, industry experts said.
Capable of absorbing all kinds of oil from any surface in both indoor and outdoor conditions, ultrafine magic fibre sheets are also proving beneficial in environmental situations involving marine oil spills and other environmental disasters.
