The company's breakthrough came in 1925 when it developed the famous Scotch masking tape, and five years later the first Cellophane tape.Not all 3M's products have been a success. But I really can't comment further as it is very confidential." It is thought that 3M is developing RFID products for use in the office.All this is a long way from 3M's roots, which go back to 1902 when five businessmen set up Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing to make sandpaper products. 3M believes these innovations will increase the typical battery capacity by 50 per cent. The company is now in discussions with manufacturers in Japan and Korea.The technology for the third potential moneyspinner is fully developed In fact, it has been in American libraries for years. It has already made a new type of electrolyte fluid, contained in some re- chargeable batteries, and is now developing new materials for cathodes and anodes. "We are involved in field tests with a number of companies and the product could be launched in the next year or two."He refuses to say which power groups 3M is working with, but they are thought to include Hawaiian Electric Company, Xcel Energy (based in Minnesota) and Western Area Power Administration (North Dakota).3M is also working on ways to make consumer lithium batteries last longer. "By controlling the nanostructure of the material, we have made something that normally would be brittle very strong," says Mr Wendling.
It comes in the form of a special patch, around 1cm square, containing 1,000 microscopic needles. They are coated with a drug that, when lightly pressed on the skin, is absorbed by the body "The drug delivery is pain free. The needles are so small, you don't notice them."It is understood that 3M will begin clinical trials of the microneedles this year "We are well down the path. We are aligning with vaccine providers and are involved in tests. We think that microneedles will be applicable for a broad range of vaccines and it could be available in less than five years," says Mr Wendling.The second area causing much excitement in 3M's labs is its work in the energy sector. Here, the company has two inventions that it believes could become moneyspinners.One is known as the composite conductor. The growing demand for electricity is putting a strain on distribution companies, which have to install more overhead cables in areas of high use.
3M's scientists have responded by inventing a cable capable of transmitting two to three times more electricity than a traditional one with a steel core.The inner core of 3M's cable is made of alumina, a ceramic material. Of these, Mr Wendling believes that nanotechnology offers the biggest potential to produce the next Post-it-style blockbuster for 3M.Much of what 3M does is shrouded in secrecy for fear of its competitors stealing the march on new inventions. 3M believes it has discovered a painless way of injecting drugs into the body using a system called microneedles. But ahead of the company's second-quarter results, out tomorrow, Mr Wendling has revealed for the first time the three inventions that he predicts hold the potential to become the next big thing for 3M.The first is in the area of drug delivery. Quite simply, our business model is to create things that didn't exist before."Mr Wendling and his team have come up with a list of 12 technologies on which 3M will focus its research dollars (see facing page).
