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Concretene, the Manchester‑based DeepTech company developing graphene‑enhanced, low‑carbon concrete, has been named a winner in Ofwat’s sixth Water Breakthrough Challenge. The winning project, “Splitting Biogas, Multiplying Value,” is led by UK water utility United Utilities and aims to show how wastewater biogas can be converted into clean hydrogen and high‑value graphene, then used across construction, energy storage and transport applications.

Within this project, Concretene will use sustainably produced, UK‑sourced graphene derived from wastewater biogas in its concrete admixture technology, targeting significant reductions in cement content and embodied carbon while maintaining or improving performance. Concretene has been awarded £1 million out of a total £9.5 million funding package, which will support further product development, testing and early deployment of graphene‑enhanced concrete in real‑world infrastructure projects.

China-based developer and manufacturer of smart wearables and telehealth devices, Linktop, has launched the Lifestone Graphene Cooling Headband, a wearable device designed to enhance athletic endurance by reducing core body temperature and heart rate during high-intensity activities. The headband uses graphene's thermal conductivity to enable passive heat dissipation without batteries or evaporative cooling.

The technology is reportedly based on exercise physiology research showing that lower core temperature leads to reduced heart rate, delayed fatigue and improved endurance performance. 

Researchers from India's Homi Bhabha National Institute and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre have demonstrated an efficient route for converting high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic waste into high-quality turbostratic graphene using flash Joule heating (FJH), while directly validating its performance in supercapacitor electrodes.

The approach relies on rapid capacitive discharge to drive extremely fast resistive heating of the polymer precursor, reaching temperatures above 2500°C within milliseconds. This ultrafast thermal spike induces carbonization and graphitization in a single step, eliminating the need for external furnaces, catalysts, or solvents. Compared to conventional graphene production routes such as chemical vapor deposition or chemical oxidation, the FJH process is significantly simpler, avoids hazardous chemicals entirely, and reduces both energy consumption and environmental impact.

BW Epic Kosan (BWEK), a leader in LPG, petrochemicals and specialty gas transportation, has expanded its partnership with GIT Coatings to advance proactive hull management across its LPG fleet. Five LPG gas carriers have been coated to date using GIT's biocide-free graphene-based hull coating technology, with one additional vessel currently in dry dock.

The partnership builds on strong operational results from BWEK's adoption of GIT's hard foul-release coating, combined with proactive cleaning using onboard robotic technology and dedicated advisory support. A case study presented at a recent conference tracked one LPG carrier through more than 12 months of commercial operation, documenting both out-of-dock performance gains and the ability to maintain a clean hull during service.

Researchers from Princeton University, University of Michigan, California State University and Japan's National Institute for Materials Science have introduced Qumus, an embodied AI system that can autonomously create graphene and fabricate atomically thin graphene devices in a robotic mini-laboratory.

Qumus AI architecture and fully robotic minilab. a Defining characteristics of an AI experimentalist. b Key self-evolving modules of Qumus, including LLM-agents, memory and knowledge systems, and skills including instrumental workflows and materials/devices realization recipes. c Qumus architecture for efficient multi-agent collaboration and robust performance. d A compact, fully robotic minilab consisting of vacuum- and temperature-controlled stages for 2D material mechanical exfoliation, optical flake search, flake transfer and stacking, along with robotic arms, storage modules, cameras, and microscope systems. Image from : arXiv

Qumus is built around the complete graphene workflow: from exfoliating bulk crystals to isolating single-layer flakes and stacking them into functional van der Waals (vdW) devices, all without human intervention. The system combines generative AI, computer vision and robotics to handle the labor-intensive steps that typically limit graphene research, such as flake discovery, thickness assessment and submicron alignment during transfer.

Researchers from Taiwan's National Cheng Kung University and Chung Yuan Christian University have developed an interface-engineering strategy to overcome key efficiency bottlenecks in mesoporous perovskite solar cells by introducing APTS-functionalized reduced graphene oxide (APTS-rGO) into the electron transport structure.

In this work, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) was chemically modified using 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTS), a silane coupling agent with both amine and silane functional groups. This dual functionality enables strong bonding with oxide surfaces such as TiO₂ while simultaneously improving compatibility with the perovskite layer.

Hong Kong–based Ming Shing Group Holdings has entered into a stock purchase agreement to acquire PMA Nano Carbon Technology for US$110 million. 

PMA Nano Carbon Technology is a Singapore-based company that develops graphene‑based thermal management and heating solutions for electronics, mobility and related applications. Interestingly, PMA Nano Carbon was established only last month, which makes this whole acquisition highly surprising.