The following is a sponsored post by Haydale

Haydale Composite Solutions are pleased to announce the production of graphene-enhanced electrically-conductive carbon fibre-reinforced composite materials with improved resistance to damage from a severe lightning-strike event.

Carbon fibre-reinforced composite materials, as used in many aerospace structures and components, are vulnerable to damage from lightning strikes. However, the addition of functionalised nano materials to the epoxy resin through the use of Haydale’s patented plasma functionalisation process, HDPlas, has been demonstrated to significantly improve the electrical conductivity of the epoxy resin which allows the laminate to dissipate the energy of the lightning strike throughout the structure thereby reducing the localised heating which causes damage in a lightning-strike event. Importantly, these improvements have been achieved without any major issues with existing manufacturing processes.

Nanomedical Diagnostics announced a partnership with Rogue Valley Microdevices to deliver their graphene-based biosensors, AGILE R100. The partnership between Nanomedical Diagnostics and Rogue Valley Microdevices will open the novel sensing technique to any pharmaceutical company seeking to characterize biomolecules quickly and easily.

The AGILE R100 is designed to provide biophysical data to pharmaceutical and biotherapeutics companies seeking more informed decisions earlier in the drug discovery process. However, the company also plans a significant impact on the healthcare industry with innovative new products that enable cutting-edge life science research, drug discovery applications, and diagnostic and health monitoring platforms.

Update: Our sources in china say that it is highly unlikely that this battery actually has any graphene materials in it...

Chinese battery manufacturer Chaowei Power launched a new version of its Black Gold battery — a lead-acid battery that reportedly uses graphene as an additive. The company states that the battery resistance is reduced by 52% and that performance of the battery in low temperature operations has been greatly improved.

Chaowei makes lithium and lead acid automotive batteries under the Chilwee brand. Its Black Gold high-energy VRLA series was launched in February 29, 2016, when it reportedly first applied graphene technology to a commercial, mass-produced rechargeable lead battery.

Researchers from the University of Geneva, working with the Federal Polytechnic School in Zurich (ETHZ) and two Spanish research teams, have come up with a technique based on the use of graphene that allows for terahertz waves to be controlled accurately. This discovery paves the way for a practical use of terahertz waves, in particular for imaging and telecommunications.

Terahertz waves allow for the detection of materials that are undetectable at other frequencies, but the use of these waves is limited by the absence of suitable devices and materials allowing to control them. The team developed a technique in which graphene allows for the potentially very quick control of both the intensity and the polarization of terahertz light. "The interaction between terahertz radiation and the electrons in graphene is very strong and we have therefore come to the hypothesis that it should be possible to use graphene to manage terahertz waves," the team explains.

Rutgers University has licensed a technology that allows for the mass production of high-quality graphene at a reduced cost to Everpower International Holdings, a New York-based investment company engaged in investing in emerging technologies and their integration into China, that has recently announced a collaboration agreement with Haydale.

The method uses microwaves to produce high-quality graphene from graphene oxide, and has the potential to generate large quantities of it at low cost. The ability to manufacture graphene on a large scale will allow Everpower to test a variety of products containing the material.

Researchers at the Czech Republic created magnetized carbon by treating graphene layers with non-metallic elements, said to be the first non-metal magnet to maintain its magnetic properties at room temperature. The researchers say such magnetic graphene-based materials have potential applications in the fields of spintronics, biomedicine and electronics.

By treating graphene with other non-metallic elements such as fluorine, hydrogen, and oxygen, the scientists were able to create a new source of magnetic moments that communicate with each other even at room temperature. This discovery is seen as "a huge advancement in the capabilities of organic magnets".

Researchers at the Centre for Hybrid and Organic Solar Energy (CHOSE) of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, along with researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) and the University of Applied Sciences in Crete (TEI), have stated that they set a new record for conversion efficiency of a perovskite photovoltaic module with an area larger than 50 cm².

The success was achieved as part of Graphene Flagship, the 1 billion euro European project that promotes graphene-based innovation in sectors like energy, electronics, technology and medicine. Perovskites photovoltaic modules' efficiency is usually demonstrated in the laboratory on cells less than 1 cm² in size, whereas the new test was performed on modules with an area larger than 50 cm². The electronic and chemical properties offered by graphene have made it possible to overcome the many difficulties related to the realization of large-area perovskite solar panels.

Today we published a new version of all our graphene market reports. Graphene-Info provides comprehensive niche graphene market reports, and our reports cover everything you need to know about these niche markets. The reports are now updated to March 2017.

The Graphene Batteries Market Report:

• The advantages using graphene batteries
• The different ways graphene can be used in batteries
• Various types of graphene materials
• What's on the market today
• Detailed specifications of some graphene-enhanced anode material
• Personal contact details into most graphene developers

The report package provides a good introduction to the graphene battery - present and future. It includes a list of all graphene companies involved with batteries and gives detailed specifications of some graphene-enhanced anode materials and contact details into most graphene developers. Read more here!

Elcora Advanced Materials recently reported that it received $500,000 in non-repayable grants and $1,300,000 in Government Loans to assist with continued Lithium-Ion battery testing and development.

In addition to this amount, the Elcora announced that it has closed the non-brokered private placement financing announced in the beginning of the year.

Applied Graphene Materials, in a recent update, said it made "significant progress" in all of its core markets of composites, coatings, oils and lubricants. Among the reported highlights of its work is its graphene-enhanced epoxy prepreg system MTC9800 to be shown at the JEC World exhibition later this month, after a year and half collaboration with SHD Composites.

In addition, the company has recently completed the first phase of a development project investigating the application of its graphene for resin infused Aerospace structures. During 2016 it continued work on its development program with Airbus Defence and Space, a division of Airbus Group SE, although details of this work are still subject to a non-disclosure agreement.