December 2022

Malaysia-based graphite and single-layer graphene producer, Graphjet Technology (GTI), recently signed a Letter of Offer to build its RM400 million (over USD$90 million) production facility in the Phase 3 of Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park.

Graphjet's patented technology aims to transform palm kernel shell, a waste from palm kernel production, into single-layer graphene, at a significantly lower cost than the current production of single-layer graphene. The production plant is expected to produce 10,000 tonnes of graphite and 60 tonnes of single-layer graphene annually. 

Last month, Applied Graphene Materials (AGM) reported a failed attempt to raise funds, which caused  AGM shares to plunge. Now, Applied Graphene Materials said it received non-binding indicative proposals for its sale or the sale of its main operating subsidiary.

The graphene materials maker said it is in discussions with the parties involved and expects final proposals in early January. After this, the board would select a preferred bidder to progress with. Applied added that there can be no certainty any final proposals will be made, nor the terms of any proposals made.

The Enlit Europe 2022 energy conference recently took place, and the Graphene Flagship participated, showing some of the latest energy-related graphene projects. We took the chance to discuss graphene with some of the flagship researchers, and we also talked to Prof. Jari Kinaret, the director of the flagship project, to learn of how he summarizes the last 10 years now that the flagship project will soon end.

Q: We understand that the Graphene Flagship is attending Enlit Europe 2022, showing some new graphene R&D projects. We'll be happy to get an overview of what will be displayed at the event.

At Enlit Europe, the Graphene Flagship exhibited innovations from its Spearhead Projects, which are industry-led initiatives working to move materials from research labs towards commercial applications. Among these initiatives are:

• CircuitBreakers, led by ABB and developing first-of-their-kind grease-free, maintenance-free, low-voltage circuit breakers for fault protection in key parts of the electrical grid;
• GRAPES, led by Enel Green Power and working on combining silicon solar cells with perovskite solar cells, paving the way for low-cost, highly efficient photovoltaic energy, surpassing the limits of silicon based cells.

Researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Tianjin University, CNRS and Kwansei Gakuin University have developed a new graphene-based nanoelectronics platform compatible with conventional microelectronics manufacturing, potentially paving the way for a successor to silicon.
    
Walter de Heer, Regents' Professor in the School of Physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and his collaborators, have developed a new nanoelectronics platform based on graphene. The technology is compatible with conventional microelectronics manufacturing, a necessity for any viable alternative to silicon. In the course of their research, the team may have also discovered a new quasiparticle. Their discovery could lead to manufacturing smaller, faster, more efficient, and more sustainable computer chips, and has potential implications for quantum and high-performance computing.

Haydale has launched its graphene-enhanced prepreg after extended field trials more than doubled the manufacture of composite parts.

Using Haydale's HDPlas technology, functionalized graphene is added to high performing tooling epoxy resin and then pre-impregnated onto a suitable carbon fiber reinforcement for use in tool manufacture. The graphene-enhanced epoxy prepreg tooling material is designed to deliver cost-efficient composite tooling with extended tooling life, improved surface quality and enhanced thermal conductivity.

University of Sussex scientists, along with teams from Spain's Instituto de Carboquímica (ICB-CSIC) and Instituto de Nanociencia de Aragon (INA), UK's University of Brighton, France's Institut des Materiaux Nantes Jean Rouxel and Rice University in the U.S, have demonstrated how a conductive paint coating that they have developed mimics the network spread of a virus through a process called 'explosive percolation'—a mathematical process which can also be applied to population growth, financial systems and computer networks, but which has not been seen before in materials systems.

The process of percolation—the statistical connectivity in a system, such as when water flows through soil or through coffee grounds—is an important component in the development of liquid technology. And it was that process which the research group was expecting to see when they added graphene oxide to polymer latex spheres, such as those used in emulsion paint, to make a polymer composite. However, when the team heated the graphene oxide to make it electrically conductive, the scientists kick-started a process that saw this conductive system grow exponentially, to the extent that the new material created consumed the network, similar to the way a new strain of a virus can become dominant.

Researchers from Australia's Monash University and CSIRO Manufacturing have designed a permselective membrane based on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) for making practical lithium-sulfur batteries. 

The membrane closely mimics a cell plasma membrane, demonstrating selective Li+ transport and the ability to not only retain polysulfides, but also 're-activate' them on the membrane's electrochemically active interface. The team used the membrane to demonstrate high loading and high rate Li-S batteries, also on a pouch cell level.

Researchers from Japan's Tohoku University and RIKEN have successfully detected terahertz waves with fast response and high sensitivity at room temperature. 

On the electromagnetic spectrum, which comprises everything from radio waves to X-rays and gamma rays, there is a deadzone where conventional electronic devices can hardly operate. This deadzone is occupied by terahertz waves. With wavelengths of approximately 10 micrometers to 1 millimeter, terahertz waves are unique amongst electromagnetic waves. Their vibration frequency overlaps with the molecules that make up matter, and they allow for the detection of substances, since almost every molecule operating in the terahertz band has a fingerprint spectrum. Technologies capable of harnessing the power of terahertz waves could have massive significance for the development of spectroscopy, imaging, and 6G and 7G technologies.

Graphenea has launched a specialty chemicals spin off, called Kivoro. The new company will be focused on creating solutions for industrial challenges. 

Graphenea will continue to operate as a graphene producer, with Kivoro taking lead on applications development in various industries like composites, construction, and more.

Reports suggest that Chinese startup Caiqi Xin Cailiao (Caiqi New Materials) is preparing to mass-produce graphene materials for supercapacitors, in the near future.

According to these reports, Caiqi has already completed mass production trials and a fundraising round of about 10 million yuan ($1.4 million).