Germany-based Skeleton Technologies has been on the forefront of graphene-based supercapacitors development for many years, and the company recently made some major announcements, including a large (>€70 million) financing round, the super-battery project and several strategic customers and projects - including ones with Medcom, Skoda, CAF, Wrightbus and Marubeni.

We recently talked with Skeleton's VP of automotive products, Sebastian Pohlmann, who updated us on the company's business and technology.

Elcora Advanced Materials has announced that it has closed a second and final tranche of its non-brokered private placement, shortly after closing the the first tranche of its private placement, for gross proceeds of CAD$1,120,500 (around USD$898,362).

The Company declared gross proceeds of CAD$1,699,185.00 (around USD$1,363,000) for the second and final tranche.

The German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG) has announced its plan to establish a new research group: "Proximity-induced correlation effects in low-dimensional structures", under the leadership of Chemnitz University of Technology. The research group will be funded with approximately 3.2 million euros plus a 22 percent program allowance for indirect costs during the first four-year funding period.

The research work of the interdisciplinary DFG research group will focus on atomically thin carbon films such as graphene. "These two-dimensional materials and their heterostructures are currently being intensively researched worldwide, as they exhibit unusual and novel electronic properties. The goal of the scientists in our DFG research group is to investigate the correlation effects occurring in a prototypical 2D heterosystem and to manipulate them in a targeted manner", said Prof. Dr. Christoph Tegenkamp from Chemnitz U, spokesperson for the new group. This involves specially fabricated epitaxial graphene layers on the semiconductor material silicon carbide. "These research should provide further foundations for novel quantum materials with tailored properties and their application, for example in spintronics or electronics".

EDASI, developed of graphene-enhanced bed-sheets is running a crowdfunding campaign to support its product launch. The campaign is very successful, having raised over $275,000 as of the time of writing (with 8 days to go).

The company says that its graphene-enhanced fibers offer excellent thermal regulation and that its graphene fights bacteria and repels dust mite.

Advanced Material Development (AMD) and Gurit recently announced the securement of £392,605 funding from the Defense and Security Accelerator (DASA), under a competition for wind farm mitigation for radar systems which is funded through the BEIS Net Zero Innovation Portfolio and delivered by MOD.

The DASA funding will enable the development and testing of AMD’s unique graphene-based technology, which when integrated into a turbine’s blade structure, will reduce a wind farm’s interference with radar systems. The nanotechnology aims to enable additional functionality to be incorporated into wind farm structures, including embedded sensors that can monitor the turbine’s structural health, with the aim of increasing the sustainability and longevity of the blades.

Researchers from University of California at Berkeley, along with additional collaborators, have developed a graphene-based technique for visualizing "Wigner crystals" - a unique sort of crystal that had so far remained impossible to visualize as it tends to melt when probed. The crystals are named after physicist Eugene Wigner, who predicted that at low densities and cold temperatures, electrons that usually zip through materials would freeze into place, forming an electron ice, or "Wigner crystal".

By placing a graphene sheet over the semiconductor sandwich, the team was able to probe the Wigner crystal with a scanning tunneling microscope without melting the sample and demonstrate the crystalline lattice structure, as Wigner predicted.

Tirupati Graphite has entered into a research collaboration agreement with Monash University in Australia to develop commercial applications for a range of graphene products in raw and recycled polymer nanocomposites and dispersions.

The 12-month agreement with the Department of Material Sciences and Engineering specifies that research will focus on enhancing thermal, electrical, and mechanical properties of various polymers and preparation of dispersions for developing a range of commercial products.

Specialists at The University of Manchester have teamed up with global architect firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) to research the design and manufacturing of space habitats for the space industry.

The view from inside the viewing deck aboard the Graphene Space Habitat. Credit: SOM and U of Manchester

The international collaboration has Dr. Vivek Koncherry and his team (supported by the Manchester-based Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre) creating a scaled prototype of a graphene-enhanced space habitat with pressurized vessels designed to function in a space environment.

Electric two-wheeler brand Yadea recently unveiled a number of products and innovations at its New Tech Launching Event, held in Wuxi, China. Among the achievements on display were Yadea’s Graphene 3.0 Battery, which the Company aims to to use to advance its electric two-wheeler technology.

Yadea’s Graphene 3.0 Battery reportedly boasts ultra-low temperature resistance, improved battery capacity and a high level of durability. The Company explained that it has added antifreeze electrolyte into the battery, which can dynamically adapt to different environmental conditions, adjust the battery temperature, and ensure that electric vehicle mileage doesn’t decline in winter. At the same time, the battery is said to be resistant to extreme temperatures and can handle ranges from -20°C to 55°C.

Foxconn has signed an agreement with Appear Inc to scale up Appear's fast charging graphene battery technology, for both consumer products and electric vehicles.

Appear Graphene Super 20 Powerbank

The two companies will collaborate, and Foxconn will provide its smart manufacturing and product development capabilities while Appear will provide the battery technology and IP.