The Swedish graphene manufacturer 2D fab has announced that its new industrial-sized volume production plant has opened. Apart from increased production capacity, the new plant is said to be more energy-efficient and enables a consistent graphene quality.
This news comes about year and a half after 2D fab's decision to expand the production capacity, due to its vision of growing demand for graphene. The new plant increases 2D fab’s production capacity to ten tons of graphene per year.
Collaborative research between Flinders University's Institute for NanoScale Science and Technology and the Centre for Health Technologies at the University of Technology Sydney has used VFD technology to enable the preparation of a new generation of aggregation-induced emission dye (AIE) luminogens using graphene oxide (GO).
Traditional fluorescent dyes to examine bacteria viability are toxic and suffer poor photostability, so researchers are constantly looking for alternatives. Using the VFD to produce GO/AIE probes with the property of high fluorescence is said to be very promising—with the new GO/AIE nanoprobe having 1400% brighter fluorescent performance than AIE luminogen alone.
The MULTIMAL research project is developing a small device that can be used to rapidly identify malaria parasites using saliva samples, without the need for lab equipment. MULTIMAL is one of eight projects exploring new uses for graphene with support from ATTRACT, a €20 million EU-funded, CERN-led consortium, which has awarded 170 grants worth €100,000 each for one-year proof-of-concept technology projects.
Today’s portable malaria testing kits are “just above flipping a coin,” because they are right only 60 percent of the time, says MULTIMAL principal investigator Jérôme Bôrme. The disease, which the World Health Organisation says killed 435,000 people in 2017 (nearly all of them in Africa), is caused by five species of parasite that can be easily identified in a lab. But treating the disease in remote towns and villages is difficult because of the lack of reliable portable testing kits, explains Bôrme, MULTIMAL’s principal investigator and staff researcher at the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory in Portugal, which runs MULTIMAL in collaboration with the University of Minho.
U.S-based motorcycle maker Indian Motorcycle has launched a new graphene-based technology Called ClimaCommand Classic Seat, which aims to deliver both heating and cooling to riders and passengers. The thermo-electric technology reportedly raises the bar on cooling, providing a much more effective solution than HVAC convection systems.
A critical performance benefit of the ClimaCommand technology is that it actually produces a surface that’s cold to the touch, rather than merely pushing cool air through perforations in the surface in the manner that HVAC system offerings operate.
A team of Brown University researchers has found a way to double the toughness of a ceramic material used to make solid-state lithium ion batteries. The new strategy could be useful in bringing solid-state batteries to the mass market.
“There’s huge interest in replacing the liquid electrolytes in current batteries with ceramic materials because they’re safer and can provide higher energy density,” said Christos Athanasiou, a postdoctoral researcher in Brown’s School of Engineering and lead author of the research. “So far, research on solid electrolytes has focused on optimizing their chemical properties. With this work, we’re focusing on the mechanical properties, in the hope of making them safer and more practical for widespread use.”
Sweden-based 2D fab has recently closed a new share issue of approximately €700,000. The capital will primarily be used for developing the organization and for commercializing the Company's graphene products.
The share issue was directed to a limited number of investors, having received the offer either via the company's executive management or via G&W Fondkommission. Through this transaction 2D fab received eleven new owners, among them Malmö based Polynom Investment.
Alé Cycling recently released a graphene-enhanced cycling shirt called the Velocity G+ jersey. The new jersey sells for around £230 and uses a graphene-based fabric that Alé claims “allows an active interaction between the body and the fabric.”
Alé says that this new G+ fabric is “able to effectively equalize body temperature, creating the ideal microclimate to keep cyclists comfortable even in the most unpleasant weather conditions.”