Applied Graphene Materials, producer of specialty graphene materials, has announced results of its collaboration with Magna Exteriors and SHD Composites on the W Motors Fenyr SuperSport tailgate. The product is being presented by Magna at the 2018 JEC conference in Paris. The collaboration has seen Magna enhance the tailgate of W Motors' performance-focused supercar using AGM's graphene-enhanced Epoxy Prepreg, supplied by AGM's commercial partner SHD.

This development follows the launch of a range of AGM graphene enhanced prepreg materials by SHD in March 2017, with SHD subsequently developing an industry-leading graphene enhanced epoxy prepreg system - MTC9810. MTC9810 is a tangible demonstration of the ease by which AGM's "process-ready" graphene dispersions can be adopted by the composites industry, with minimal disruption to existing manufacturing routes, and deliver cost effective performance gains. MTC9810 is supported by a strong mechanical database that exhibits outstanding mechanical properties, particularly in fracture toughness, interlaminar shear strength and fatigue life.

Researchers at the Science Foundation Ireland-funded AMBER Materials Science Center have developed a new graphene-infused collagen-based biomaterial which they say may in time be capable of regenerating heart, nerve, spinal cord, brain and other tissue that responds to an electrical stimulus. The material also has the added bonus of being able to fight infection.

The scientists said they found that by adding graphene, they could make the collagen electro-conductive. The resulting substance has regenerative potential that can carry electrical signals over patches of damaged tissue, restoring function once again to the impacted area.

The PolyGraph project, a 4-year development project with aims to develop new production techniques to deliver industrial scale quantities of graphene-reinforced thermosetting polymers, has published its results.

The POLYGRAPH (Up-Scaled Production of Graphene Reinforced Thermosetting Polymers for Composite, Coating and Adhesive Applications) project brought together 14 partners, including SMEs, companies, universities and a research center, and has reportedly led to the identification of the most suitable materials and production techniques for graphene-based coatings, adhesives and composites. Once the graphene market reaches maturity and material prices drop , these new products could appeal to a vast range of industries.

SaltX Technology, a Swedish energy storage company that develops and sells a technology with which energy can be stored in salt and recovered in the form of heat or cold, entered a strategic collaboration with specialty paper producer Ahlstrom-Munksjö to develop a large-scale manufacturing method where paper is coated with graphene. The graphene-coated paper will act as carrier of SaltX patented Nano Coated Salt, increasing the heat conductivity of the SaltX material by up to five times.

The method to manufacture SaltX energy storage material on paper potentially reduces the cost by up to 80% compared to existing technique. It also enables an industrial and scalable production with an initial capacity of 100,000 tons of energy storage material, which is the equivalent to 50 gigawatt hours of thermal energy storage.

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A team of Chinese scientists from South China Normal University and Beihang University has used graphene to create an artificial gas detector that is as good as a dog's nose. Their work showed that the graphene-based nanoscrolls can mimic a dog's sensitive sniffer, which is lined with millions of tiny capillaries. Since the capillaries cover such a large surface area, they can detect smells at extremely low concentrations.

Drawing inspiration from the capillary structure, the researchers found a way to modify graphene with a polymer to make high-quality nanoscrolls. These nanoscrolls have a large surface area similarly to a dog's nose. They are stable at high temperatures, and are strong and durable.

University of Adelaide researchers are developing fertilizers with a graphene carrier that could lower environmental impacts and reduce costs for farmers. In partnership with industry, the researchers have demonstrated effective slow release fertilizers can be produced from loading essential trace elements onto graphene oxide sheets.

Using graphene as a carrier means the fertilizers can be applied in a more targeted way, with overall increased efficiency and great nutrient uptake by the plants. The graphene-based carriers have so far been demonstrated with the micronutrients zinc and copper. Work is reportedly continuing with macronutrients such as nitrogen and phosphate.

Haydale Technologies (Korea) has signed an annual supply agreement for specific functionalized graphene nanoplatelet (GNP) material with River Runs, a Korean manufacturer of high-performance fishing rods and reels.

The graphene-based material has been incorporated in a carbon fiber prepreg to produce graphene-enhanced carbon fiber fishing rods for sale in both domestic and overseas markets. River Runs has reported a significant increase in mechanical gain.

Researchers at MIT and Harvard University have found that graphene can be tuned to behave at two electrical extremes: as an insulator, in which electrons are completely blocked from flowing; and as a superconductor, in which electrical current can stream through without resistance.

Researchers in the past, including this team, have been able to synthesize graphene superconductors by placing the material in contact with other superconducting metals — an arrangement that allows graphene to inherit some superconducting behaviors. In this new work, the team found a way to make graphene superconduct on its own, demonstrating that superconductivity can be an intrinsic quality in the purely carbon-based material.

The Korean state-run Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) announced the development of a graphene-based optical modulator device capable of performing arithmetic and remembering it at the same time. According to ETRI, the device works much like a human brain.

The institute said its researchers have artificially recreated neural synapses in the device. It added the latest achievement will lay the foundation for the development of chips that will have a similar structure to the human brain and may also lead to the development of neuro-computers.