Center for Innovation and Technology Cooperation (CITC)

Islamic Republic of Iran

Presidency
Irans S&T Status in General
Biotechnology in Iran
Nanotechnology in Iran
Advanced Materials and Composite Industry in Iran
Information and Communication Technology in Iran
Renewable Energies in Iran

2
Iran is an example of a country that has made
considerable advances through education and
training, in almost all aspects of research during
the past 30 years. Iran's university population
swelled from 100,000 in 1979 to more than 3.7
million in 2011. Iran's science progress is the
fastest in world. Iran has made great strides in
different sectors, including nanotechnology,
biotechnology, aerospace, nuclear science,
medical development, as well as stem cell and
cloning research.

A 2010 report by Canadian research firm
Science-Metrix has put Iran in the top rank
globally in terms of growth in scientific
productivity with a 14.4 growth index followed
by South Korea with a 9.8 growth index. Iran's
growth rate in science and technology is
11 times more than the average growth of the
world's output in 2009 and in terms of total
output per year, Iran has already surpassed the
total scientific output of countries like Sweden,

Switzerland, Israel, Belgium, Denmark, Finland,
Austria or that of Norway. By early 2000, Iran
allocated around 0.4% of its GDP to R&D,
which ranks it "far behind industrialized
societies" and the world average of 1.4%. By
2009 this ratio of research to GDP reached
0.87% and the set target is 2.5%
1-2 S&T Figures of Iran (2009)
Number of Research Centers: 500
Number of Governmental Universities: 140
Number of Incubators:90
Number of Science and Technology Parks: 25
Number of University Students: about 335000
Number of Academic Staffs: about 104000
Number of Graduated MSc and MA Students:
about 184000
Number of PhD Students: about 10300
Irans S&T Status in General

3
S&T Publications
Iran's Rank in the world in science & engineering (S&E) articles in all fields is 27
th
, its average
annual change (%) being 25.7%. Irans growth rate was the fastest of all nations.

Figure 2: The number of ISI Articles of Islamic Republic of Iran from 1970 to 2009

The number of international scientific papers that have been printed in ISI journals, has had a rapid
increase in recent years, which proves effective research at the boundaries of different scientific
fields in I.R. Iran.


4

Present Biotechnology Status in Iran
Iran has entered the modern biotechnology era
in the early 1990s and within a short period of
time it has become able to build up significant
capabilities. At present there are a total of 160
public research and academic institutes, and 238
private centers and companies, involved in
biotechnology research and production in Iran.
Now Iran's Biotechnology Position is:
Articles publications in world rankings: 24
th

General ranking in Asia: Among top 5 Countries
Production rate in Middle East: 1
st

Vaccines production rate in Middle East: 1
st

Producing 9 of the 20 most expensive
biotechnology drugs

Biotechnology Centers
The most important Biotechnology centers in
Iran are:
1) Biotechnology Council
2) Center for Innovation & Technology
Cooperation (CITC)
3) National Committee for Policy making in
Medical Biotechnology
4) Agricultural Biotechnology Research
Institute of Iran (ABRII)
5) Biotechnology Department of Pasteur
Institute of Iran
Biotechnology in Iran

The last two decades have witnessed remarkable
advances in the field of biotechnology,
highlighted by breakthroughs in Genetic
engineering and related techniques. Hopes were
rising that these advances may solve many
problems facing human communities. New
applications such as molecular farming, the use
of plants as bioreactors, recombinant
therapeutics and diagnostics abound. Blood
substitutes and antibiotics are among an
increasing number of target products derived
from plant-based biotechnology. Creating better
tools to fight pollution and to improve
protection of environment can also strengthen
the role of modern biotechnology in the
development of the third world countries,
diversifying production, increasing income
sources, creating more job opportunities and
sustainable development. Iran initiated research
in biological sciences as early as seventy years
ago in Razi and Pasteur institutes. These insti-
tutes had been established to produce human
and animal vaccines.



5

6) Iranian Research Organization for Science &
Technology (IROST)
7) National Research Center for Genetic
Engineering and Biotechnology (NRCGEB)
Razi Vaccine & Serum Research Institute

Biotechnology Research and
Development Priorities
As a part of national biotechnology program,
biotechnology commission has determined the
priorities for Research and Development in Iran.
The methodology for priorities was chosen
according to UNESCO criteria that Agricultural
Biotechnology and Medical Biotechnology were
introduced as Biotechnology research and
development priorities in Iran.
Trends of Biotechnology in Iran are Health in
the fields of Biopharmaceutical, Diagnosis, Cell
Therapy, and Regenerative Medicine; Agricul-
ture in the fields of Biofertilizer, Biopesticide,
and Tissue Culture; and Environment in the
field of Waste treatment.


ANGIPARS
TM

Completely safe in therapeutic doses
Significantly effective in treatment of diabetic
foot ulcer
Therapeutic effects are remarkable as early as
the second week of the therapy
Therapeutic effects are durable (even after
finishing the treatment course)
Therapy is cost effective
Preventing amputation in many patients with
diabetic foot ulcer


Some Achievements in the field
of Medical Biotechnology

6

CinnoVex
TM

CinnoVex is the trade name of recombinant
Interferon beta 1-a
CinnoVex is used in the treatment of relapsing
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) to slow the develop-
ment of physical disability.
Iran is the third country which produces
CinnoVex.
1 gr. of CinnoVex ~ 2.5 million $
Delaying of progression to Disability
Milestones significantly reduce risk of
progression to impaired ambulation Delaying
significantly the onset of persistent
deterioration in manual dexterity and timed
ambulation.
Slowing of the rate of progression of brain.
Reduction of the number of enhancing lesions.

IMOD
TM

A medicine to Management of HIV/AIDS:
Stimulating the immune system consequently
white blood cells increasing and inducing
resistance against disease
Prevents HIV patients from entering the AIDS
stage
Helping patients with AIDS to recover and
experience a normal life
Relatively low cost as compared to available
commercial drugs
No side effects
Highly effective
Durable effects (even after finishing the course
of treatment)

7

Production of Medical Equipments
such as:

Auto Acoustic Emission for Infants'
Hearing Screening
Advantages and applications:
No need for the patient's cooperation and
applicable for infants
Low price comparing with the foreign version
products
Peripheral product within the natural hearing
process
Recordable through the exterior ear canal
To record the nanometric oscillation by
installing a hypersensitive probe inside the
exterior canal of the ear
To utilize the other clinical applications
including differentiation of cochlea
malfunctioning, examine the recent impacts on
the hearing, examining the impact of
poisonous drugs on the body including
examining of electromagnetic waves on
human beings.

Parseh Surgical Navigation System
Features & Advantages:
3D indication of the path for surgical
instrument movements in details
Application of advanced techniques of
analysis and recovery of the data provided by
common medical imaging methods such as
MRI and CT scan
Considerable increase in accuracy and quality
of the surgery
Displaying a virtual sight on the computer
screen according to the patient anatomy, from
those surgery positions which are not in the
surgeon direct sight.
The most important application fields: Brain
and Neurosurgery, Ear, Nose and Throat
Surgery, Orthopedics, Spine Surgery,
Radiotherapy



8

One of the Agricultural Biotechnology Achievements
Seed Potato Roytuber
TM

With over 15 years of research experience in the production of nucleus, pre-basic and basic-seed potato
derived from minituber (Roytuber
TM
), Royan Tolou Co. has successfully introduced a new and revolu-
tionary method for producing elite seed potato through advanced gardening processes to economically
produce large volumes of healthy and virus-free Roytuber
TM
seed potato.

Features and Advantages:
A new system of elite seed potato production through scientifically advanced horticultural process of
producing large volumes of Roytuber
TM
seed potato propogules from virus and pathogen free nuclear
materials
Utilizing for the production of Roytuber
TM
enables farmers to economically produce high yielding
virus-free seed potato
Reducing the reproduction period of the seeds from 10 years to 4 years

Applications:
Applicable to all potato varieties and has been widely adapted by farmers and the government

9

Nanotechnology Initiative Council has a multi-
sectional structure that encompasses all
significant key players in nanotechnology field
including educational, research, industrial,
investment, and policymaking bodies. Activities
of Iran Nanotechnology Initiative Council in
international relations field are as follows:
Establishment of the Regional Network
ECO-NANO with 10 member countries
Establishment of the International Centre on
Nanotechnology research in Iran, in
Association with UNIDO
Iran is also a member of International
Nanotechnology Standardization Committee
(ISO/TC229) with active participations in its
periodical meetings.
Iran is an active member of Asian Nano
Forum (ANF)
Also Iran Nanotechnology Laboratory Network
(INLN) was established with a number of
selected laboratories across the country to
facilitate necessary technological infrastructure.
Iran's growth in the field of nanotechnology has
been remarkable. Iran's rank in nanotechnology
has promoted from 60
th
in the world in 2000
its entrance to the field of nanotechnology- to
12
th
in 2011. Since 2004, with the initiation of
human resources development plan, Iran has had
the highest rate of growth in Science generation
among the countries of the world.
By timely realisation of the importance and role
of nanotechnology, Iran commenced extensive
activities in order to benefit from the advantages
of such new technology. By exercising a new
foresight, Irans Presidency Center for
Innovation and Technology Cooperation began
to promote nanotechnology potentials during
2001 and 2002 by employing various methods
such as organising fora and seminars,
establishment of a centre to provide information,
publication of books and bulletins, and holding
meetings with experts. Those efforts resulted in
the recognition of nanotechnology as a
technology with a national priority, and to this
end, Iran Nanotechnology Initiative Council
was established in 2003 in order to
develop nanotechnology in the country. Iran
Nanotechnology
in Iran

10
Rank Country Nano-article Share Rank Country Nano-article Share
1 China 13387 26.28% 16 Singapore 985 1.93%
2 USA 10172 19.97% 17 Switzerland 739 1.45%
3 Germany 3702 7.27% 18 Brazil 716 1.41%
4 Japan 3623 7.11% 19 Netherlands 686 1.35%
5 South Korea 3442 6.76% 20 Poland 676 1.33%
6 India 2918 5.73% 21 Sweden 614 1.21%
7 France 2473 4.85% 22 Belgium 545 1.07%
8 UK 1873 3.68% 23 Turkey 503 0.99%
9 Taiwan 1733 3.40% 24 Mexico 423 0.83%
10 Spain 1673 3.28% 25 Malaysia 389 0.76%
11 Italy 1571 3.08% 26 Romania 388 0.76%
12 Iran 1530 3.00% 27 Israel 383 0.75%
13 Russia 1355 2.66% 28 Austria 380 0.75%
14 Canada 1307 2.57% 29 Portugal 346 0.68%
15 Australia 1171 2.30% 30 Ukraine 344 0.68%

Nanotechnology Statistics in Iran
- 1st rank among Islamic Countries
- More than 77 universities and research institutes are involved in Nano-Tech research
- No. of Active academic staff in nanoscience and technology: 1955
- Patents:
73 Patents Published Up To 1 September 2011 In US & EPO
6 Patents Granted Up To 1 September 2011 In US & EPO

Top 30 countries by published nano-articles up to 2011 August 1
st


11
Geographic distribution of authorship for all countries with >500 records
retrieved from Web of Science for publication year 2010.
1
Country Total country records % of all country records
Singapore 9324 16.41
China 131742 15.32
South Korea 40515 13.03
Iran 16072 11.77
India 40748 11.49
Taiwan 24476 11.35
Romania 6389 10.58
Russia 23662 9.75
Japan 77544 8.45
Germany 97374 6.72
Portugal 9571 6.68
France 66727 6.62
Poland 18265 6.54
Czech Republic 9068 6.40
Mexico 9092 6.36
Spain 47957 5.82
Israel 12509 5.75
Switzerland 24404 5.65
Finland 10229 5.38
1
Michael L. Grieneisen and Minghua Zhang, Nanoscience and Nanotechnology: Evolving Definitions and Growing Footprint
on the Scientific Landscape, Department of Land Air and Water Quality, University of California
Davis, CA 95616 USA

12

Nanotechnology Priorities:
Energy (Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals, Solar Cells)
Health (DDS & Diagnostic Kits)
Water and Environment
Construction
There are 188 active companies in the field of nanotechnology in Iran that 24 of them produce laboratory
equipments. NAMA-STM is one of the important products in this area:
Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM)
NAMA-STM is an advanced scanning tunneling microscope
These systems are known generally as "the mother of nano-technology"
Enables user to take images from conductive to semi-conductive surfaces like metals or even
biological molecules like DNA or antibody
Providing clear, accurate and reproducible 2D and 3D imaged in nano meter-scale.



13

Composites Technology Status in Iran
Articles publications in world rankings:10th
Articles publications in Asia: 4th
Composite consumption per capita 2 Kg
Number of active companies: More than 100
Universities & research centers: 15
Production and consumption of composite
materials is growing increasingly in Iran. How-
ever, the production and consumption of these
new materials was only 0.2 kg per capita in
2000, but today it is more than 2kg. This
growing is mainly because of the lightweight of
these new materials and their good resistance
against corrosion in comparing with metals, that
is vital especially in wet regions of Iran.












Figure1: Composite Consumption Growth in Iran
Goal: Reaching to 3 Kg/Capita till 2012
Advanced Materials and Composite Industry
in Iran

14


(Fajr 3) Full Composite Aircraft
4 person sport aircraft
Full composite body
Design organization approval (DOA) due
to JAR-21
Type Certificate due to JAR-23

Composite Folded Structures
This structure is a novel patent which has ad-
vantages such as:
Frameless structure
Small Foundation and load distribution
Earth Quake Resistance
Speed up installation
Iran produce several kinds of resins as
one of the main required component in
polymer matrix composites: (Unsaturated
Polyester Resins & Gelcoats)
Production of Glass Fibers
The main reinforcement fibers in PMCs
Using for production: GRP pipes, Car
Components, Composite boats, Pultruded
profiles,
Some of Achievements in the
fields of Composite Technologies

15

Sub-Industries of ICT
Electronics and hardware
The electronics and hardware industry in Iran is
active in the sectors of electronic appliances,
microelectronics, computer hardware, and tele-
communications devices and smart cards. Ira-
nian manufacturers are active in all these sec-
tors.
The main exporters to Iran are South Korea,
Germany, France and Japan, with European
companies mostly active in telecommunications
devices. All the components used in the
industry, except drives and chips, are produced
domestically.
Around one million PCs are sold annually. This
market is worth about US$700 million and
growing at an annual rate exceeding 30 percent.
The electronics and hardware industry generates
0.5 percent of GDP. It has grown steadily over
the past ten years and is expected to grow faster
in the future with government support and
enabling policies.
Information and Communication
Technology in Iran
The ICT industry is relatively new in Iran, but it
is growing rapidly and is now acknowledged as
a critically significant sector of the country. The
ICT market in Iran is estimated to be worth
US$1.5 billion annually and remains largely
unexploited by foreign companies. All factors
considered, Iran is thus an attractive country for
investment and outsourcing.
The main governing body of telecommunica-
tions in Iran is the Ministry of Information and
Communication Technology. Other government
bodies that are involved in ICT matters include
the Ministry of Science, Research and Technol-
ogy, the High Council of Informatics, the
Ministry of Commerce and the Supreme
Council of ICT.
Infrastructure of ICT
Communication services started in Iran in 1889,
and since then the countrys telecommunications
networks have kept pace with innovations in the
industry. Apart from the incumbent Telecom-
munication Company of Iran (TCI), there are 28
provincial telecommunications operators in the
country.

16

received ISO 9001 and TickIT certification,
with others planning and working towards
certification.
ICT Achievements
- The DVB-S/S2 modulator
Modulator in the digital satellite uplink for TV
Broadcasting and content distributions
DVB-T Transmitter: Digitally generate a
perfect IF / RF DVB-T signal
Broadcast DVB-H Handheld DVBH-
140V1: Generates the state-of-the-art noise
-free high-MER-quality IF broadcast
modulation
Smart Card
A device for saving of information with the
following features:
Secure because of processing ability
Easily portable because of its small size
According to the world standards
Networks
Irans networking structure consists of LANs,
VANs and VPNs. Ethernet LANs are popular,
and structured cabling is used extensively.
About 100 Iranian companies are active in
providing network-related services, including
network equipment import and manufacturing,
network design and installation, and cabling.
The market value of this sector is around US$70
million per year, with 25 percent annual growth.
Software
The software industry is active in providing
financial solutions, manufacturing information
systems, office automation, graphic and design
solutions, engineering and scientific
applications, and e-learning solutions. The
government has included this industry as one of
six new industries that it will focus on.
Measures that it has adopted to boost the
industry include supporting domestic
production, providing financial backing for
software companies, and awarding government
outsourcing contracts to Iranian companies.
There are more than 500 registered software
companies and many more unregistered
groups in the country. Eight of them have

17

hopes to be generating 14GW by hydroelectric
power by 2021 (representing 20% of Iran's
projected electrical capacity).
Solar
The potential for solar electricity generation in
Iran is virtually limitless. Iran is just outside the
tropic of Capricorn and much of the country
experiences high levels of solar radiation, a
daily average of between 5.0 and 5.4 kW h/m2
in the south of the country (in comparison
London receives a daily dose of around 1.0 kW
h/m2).
This gives an energy generating capacity of
approximately 0.5kW /m2 of solar panels, or
500MW /km2. The deserts of Iran occupy a
quarter of the total land area; if only one per
cent of the desert area was covered by solar PV
collectors, the energy obtained would be five
times more than the current annual electricity
consumption in Iran.
Wind
Wind energy for electricity generation and water
pumps holds a great deal of promise in the east
of Iran. The wind potential has been studied in
45 experimental sites. It was estimated that there
was a realistic prospective capacity of 6,500
MW.
Renewable Energies in Iran
Renewable energy has a rich potential for
dispersed job creation in many parts of Iran, in
the construction, erection and repair of large
scale and micro-generation plant. Given the
growing global concerns over energy insecurity
and climate change, technologies associated
with renewable have a strong export potential.
Iran's varied geography is well suited to a
diverse and extensive use of renewable energy
sources: hydro and geothermal in the northern
and western areas, wind in the eastern and
southern plains, and solar energy in the central
and southern areas.
Hydro
In Iran's modest renewable energy story to date,
hydroelectricity is the notable exception. Iran is
clearly investing significant resources in its
development. The country has an estimated
potential for hydroelectric power generation of
between 23 and 42GW. By 2007 the seven
hydroelectric power plants being constructed
should be generating over 8GW of electricity -
more power than all Iran's other power
generation projects currently being developed
combined. With further expansion planned, the
government



18

Taleghan Renewable Energy Park
Center for H
2
& FC technology demonstration
and other kind of renewable energies

Some Activities for Development of Fuel Cell
Advanced Technology in Iran
Designing and manufacturing of 5 kW
polymer fuel cell with the aim of technical
knowledge compilation
Designing and manufacturing of polymer
fuel cell components designing and
manufacturing of single-cell solid oxide
fuel cell with the aim of technical
knowledge compilation
Designing and manufacturing of single-cell
solid oxide fuel cell with the aim of
technical knowledge compilation

Geothermal
Iran has substantial geothermal potential. It has
been estimated that Meshikin-shahr, Sabalan,
Damavand and Azarbaijan could produce
7.5GW of electric power. Geothermal explora-
tion was started in Iran by Ente Nazional per
l'Energia Elettrica of Italy (ENEL) and the
Ministry of Energy 30 years ago in 1975. After
the establishment of the Electric Power
Research Center (EPRC) and the Renewable
Energy Organization of Iran (SUNA) 1990, a
new round of exploration activities began. In
1995, SUNA started to explore other sites for
geothermal potential.
Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Activities in Iran
More than one decade activity
More than 50 R&D centers
Many projects in production, storage,
distribution and consumption of hydrogen
(lab/pilot projects).
Installing off-grid solar-hydrogen energy
and fuel cell systems.
Installing and testing of hydrogen fuel cell
cars in Iran
Design, construction, and testing of
hydrogen storage vessel (100 bar, 20 m
3
)
Design, manufacturing, testing and
installing of a 200kw water electrolyzer
with capacity of 40 Nm
3
/h of hydrogen.


19

Designing and manufacturing of Fuel Cell Vehicle such as Intelligent Electric
Soren, The First National Electric Automobile

Features:
Maximum speed: 140 km per hour
Maximum distance: 200 km
Electric engine with the average power of 40
KW and maximum power of 70 KW
Battery type: lithium battery between 25 to 30
KWper hour, with BMS and Charger

Advantages:
Promotion of technology in the production of electronic automobiles
Prevention of causing environmental pollution
Conservation in energy consumption
Economic profitability for the country due to lack of fuel consumption and prevention of causing
pollution
Providing the field of cooperation between experts in Iran and abroad for the transfer of
technology and technical knowledge