Materials
graphene could have a major part to play in this. Nigel Salter, managing director, 2-DTech.
T
state-of-the-art is, but we are aiming to approach that number.”
Graphene has been the most studied material since 2004, she says and “every day we fi nd new published works saying we have found a new effect and graphene can be used for this and can be used for that. But there is a huge gap between the
T
he graphene industry’s challenge lies with scaling up production and gaining pace in the mainstream
market. Research and development catches up with production, networking creates collaboration and breakthroughs lead to commercialisation. Every industry must start somewhere, and every industry needs to be pushed forward. These were the key issues under discussion at the recent The Commercial Graphene Show Europe 2015 which took place in Manchester, UK.
he key to solar cell design lies in charge collection and
basic research and the commercialisation aspects. So we still cannot really buy any graphene-based products, although I have to say that some competitors have started commercialising some products.”
She continues: “The other thing is graphene is really good as a conductor and as a transparent layer so there were a lot of expectations in terms of replacing silicon technology and also just having a big role in technology in general.
“But, again, the costs in producing these small samples are huge. Probably I see more promise in what graphene will do in other fi elds like composites, batteries, replacing amorphous carbon, carbon fi bre in structural projects more than in electronic devices.” ●
Scaling up the production of graphene
The show covered all aspects of grapheme’s potential – aerospace and defence, energy storage and batteries, electronics, printing and packaging, automotive, paints, coatings and barrier applications.
Some 50 expert speakers were on hand
to tell visitors exactly how graphene can impact industry. Already the global market for graphene - the thinnest material known to man and due to its hexagonal lattice of carbon atoms, it displays incredible strength - has reportedly reached £6 million and with this fi gure growing every day. “This was the perfect opportunity for the entire graphene value chain to come together. There’s no event like it, and that’s what makes it unmissable. “This was the place where
collaborations for industrial applications were initiated and infl uenced, and the future of graphene will be strengthened,” say the organisers, Terrapin. ●
For more information,
www.terrapinn.com/commercial-graphene www.engineerlive.com 23
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