60,000-acre project & nanotechnology campus coming to Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center

News - November 14, 2017 - by Ray Hagar

By Ray Hagar

Nevada Newsmakers

A nanotechnology campus is coming to the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center and it could help change the culture of Northern Nevada, TRIC partner-broker Lance Gilman said on Nevada Newsmakers.

He also said another project coming to the industrial park will encompass 60,000 acres.

That, by far, would be the largest facility in the 104,000-square-acre industrial park just east of the Reno-Sparks area. For example, the Tesla gigafactory, considered a massive construction project, sits on a 3,000-acre site and 2,000 acres of that includes hilly land for a buffer zone that is not developed.

The Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center, mostly in Storey County, has been billed as a largest industrial park in the North America.

Gilman's latest mega-development is the size of a small city. The 60,000 acres is about 94 square miles. Carson City, Nevada's capital city, is about 157 square miles.

"It is incredible and it will close right after the first of the year," said Gilman of the 60,000-acre project.

Gilman could not be more specific about the 60,000-acre project or the nanotechnology project because of agreements with companies. He described the nanotechnology project as 1,200 acres.

"I believe what I can tell you is they have roots in Stanford and Silicon Valley, from Dubai and I'll just say they are a nano-project technology," Gilman said. "We are talking about a 1,200-acre research and development campus focused on nanotechnology."

Webster's defines nanotechnology as "the science of manipulating materials on an atomic or molecular scale especially to build microscopic devices (such as robots)."

The nanotechnology site will be a boon to scientific research at the nearby University of Nevada, Reno, Gilman said.

"With Google and Tesla and Switch (at TRIC) and then you add in a nanotechnology campus, we are changing the entire culture of Northern Nevada," Gilman said. "Our universities are going to bloom. Some of the things that are coming for our children and grandchildren are unimaginable."

Nanotechnology adds strength to construction materials like concrete and steel. It is also being used by U.S. military to develop more-efficient batteries, more-powerful fuel cells, more-receptive solar cells and more-affordable titanium metal, according to Military & Aerospace Electronics website. The U.S. military is also developing a thin, lightweight and bullit-proof body suit for soldiers through nanotechnology, according to Military & Aerospace Electronics.

"Nano products are a product that are multiple times stronger than steel and very lightweight and thin," Gilman said. "They have military applications. They have commercial applications."

Buildings can be more massive with nanotechnology, Gilman said.

"One of the things that was explained to me was if you want to know about nanotechnology, skyscrapers are limited by the weight the elevator can be pulled by the cables. So let's say that is 100 stories. Nano technologies can triple the pull weight of the elevators."