Graphene EMI Shielding

Graphenest, provider of innovative electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding solutions for the electronics and automotive industries, has announced that it has raised 1.8€ million in funding to scale up its graphene cleantech production and its commercial business development. The funding was led by Ged Ventures and Portugal Ventures.

With this funding, Graphenest plans to expand its production capabilities and accelerate growth toward a circular economy, by expanding its portfolio of products and strategic partnerships with the industry's value chain. It is committed to deliver high-performance shielding products that can enable customers to replace metals that are dense, rigid, and energy & resource-intensive by graphene-based solutions

Graphenest and Hubron recently announced they have entered a strategic partnership to explore the development and commercialization of graphene-based polymer masterbatch and compounds with unprecedented electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding performance for electronic enclosures manufacturing. 

The companies explained that this new product line will start with a graphene-based thermoplastic suitable to be implemented as a remarkable EMI shielding solution in medium-high and high frequencies (for 5G and beyond).

This is a sponsored post by GrapheneUP

Population growth and improved living standards require solutions for textiles with new functions to meet changing needs. Wherever they are used, graphene-based smart textiles provide added value in terms of improved performance or comfort. GrapheneUP®, a leading graphene company with the largest production of few-layer graphene in Europe, has developed and introduced into the market new graphene-based products for textile industry: INKGUP® Fabric and PRINTGUP®.

INKGUP® Fabric is graphene-based coating formulation for textile industry produced with few-layer graphene GUP®, designed to provide superior finishing properties. This formulation has been certified antiviral (ISO 18184:2019) also for SARS-CoV-2, antistatic and with excellent abrasion resistance and thermal regulation properties.

Several properties of textiles are improved using the formulations developed with GrapheneUP®, in particular the thermal regulation, abrasion resistance, EMI shielding, UV protection, excellent electrical conductivity, antibacterial and antiviral properties.

Versarien has announced the launch of a new hybrid nanomaterial that has superparamagnetic properties, which can be used across a range of applications, like defense and healthcare. The new material combines graphene with both iron oxide and manganese oxide nanoparticles and its development was led by Versarien's 62% owned subsidiary, Gnanomat.

The superparamagnetic material combines graphene with both iron oxide and manganese oxide nanoparticles that provide the material with magnetic properties. In return, graphene provides electrical conductivity to these electrically insulating metal oxides. Magnetic nanocomposites can readily respond to external magnetic fields which allow them to be manipulated. Potential applications of the material include the treatment of wastewater whereby pollutants are adsorbed onto the graphene surface. The material could also lends be used in biomedical and biotechnology applications, or defense applications requiring the shielding of electromagnetic fields. Magnetic manipulation could allow the recovery and recycling of the graphene, something that could not be done with normal graphene compounds.

Graphenest and Delta Tecnic have announced a strategic partnership that will explore the commercialization of graphene-based polymer compounds with "unprecedented electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding performance".

This new product line already includes a PVC material that reportedly has extremely good electrical features that make it suitable for use as an EMI shielding solution in the cable industry.

Poland-based nanoEMI announced that it has raised around 250,000 Euro in its seed round, from GT Technologies, a Poland-based VC. The company says that the funds will help it scale up its production capabilities for graphene and composite materials.

nanoEMI focuses on EMI shielding applications, and produces its own graphene using two different methods (exfoliation in isopropyl alcohol and in castor oil), at its own pilot production line.

U.S-based graphene batteries developer Nanotech Energy is reportedly planning to expand its facilities and develop a 517-acre campus within the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center. The first building is slated to open in Q4 2022.

The high-volume facility will significantly increase Nanotech Energy’s manufacturing capacity to produce and scale its patented, non-flammable Graphene-Organolyte batteries and other graphene-powered products, including EMI (electromagnetic interference) shielding, transparent conducting electrodes, conductive inks, conductive adhesives and silver nanowires.

NanoEMI, A Poland-based company working on graphene-based EMI shielding applications, recently announced that it was selected by Startup Spark accelerator at Lodz Special Economic Zone to work with Ericsson on validation of its technology in innovative telecommunication devices.

EMI shielding methods traditionally rely on metal, which adds weight and is expensive. A significant body of research demonstrates that carbon nanostructure-based nanocomposite materials can outperform conventional metal shielding due to their light weight, resistance to corrosion, flexibility, and processing advantages. On top of all these, graphene’s excellent conductivity makes it a perfect candidate for such applications. Graphene-based EMI shielding is an interesting area of focus, and recent advances include Nanotech Energy's announcement of the debut of its EMI Armor Paint & Sheets, graphene powered coatings and films for electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference (RFI) shielding, as well as heat management.

Nanotech Energy has announced the debut of Nanotech EMI Armor Paint & Sheets, graphene powered coatings and films for electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference (RFI) shielding, as well as heat management.

The EMI Shielding line currently contains six products all of which are said to be highly conductive and provide excellent external EMI/RFI protection while also preventing internal EMI/RFI leaks. The products can be sprayed, brushed, rolled or dip-coated onto various surfaces, such as glass, plastic and metal depending on the specific product used.

Following a Global Business innovation Programme initiated in 2019, and a collaborative visit to the US, the UK established a new Graphene Innovation Group (UK-GIG) that puts together 15 specialists from UK companies that together share many years of experience in graphene and expertise across the entire value chain.

Scott Storey, a Business Innovation Advisor at Inventya and the lead coordinator at the UK-GIG, explains more about the group - "We can take an everyday industrial challenge, apply our combined graphene knowledge, engineer and manufacture an effective solution, and take that solution to national and international markets. UK-GIG is now an established cohort of 15 UK-based graphene companies, ranging from early stage through to established businesses. The UK-GIG companies are fully aware of the huge potential for graphene technology to improve materials or be used in novel ways across multiple sectors. They are seeking collaboration opportunities where they can combine their expertise to do what they do best - solve problems, design graphene applications, and help commercialize an increasingly exciting field. They aim to make the UK the best place on earth to be grafting in graphene!"

We have reached out to some of the GIG members, to find out how has graphene effected their business and products, and the effects of graphene on their materials or devices.