Saint Jean Carbon Inc. has completed the design build of a research and development facility located in Oakville Ontario. The facility is can process graphite from raw material right through to anode material and actual anodes. Planned applications are in lithium-ion batteries, solar panels, conductive inks and wearables.
Spanish graphene producer Gnanomat opened a new graphene pilot plant. The company produces graphene for application in energy storage devices and plans to produce 100kg/year.
Swedish energy storage company SaltX Technology has signed an agreement with a graphene company to manufacture graphene. By using graphene, SaltX has been able to demonstrate that the heat conductivity, and thereby the performance, in the SaltX material can be increased by up to five times. The collaboration project starts immediately and is expected to deliver the first batches of graphene material already next year.
Italian graphene producer Directa Plus plc has entered into a collaboration with GSP SA to evaluate the use of Grafysorber®, the Company’s graphene-based product for environmental applications, in the removal of hydrocarbons from contaminated water emanating from oil & gas activities. The companies have signed a binding letter of intent (“LOI”) to conduct field trials with a view to entering into a commercial agreement during the first half of 2018.
Under the terms of the LOI, GSP SA will commence on-field trials in early 2018 to explore multiple applications for Grafysorber® across its range of activities in the oil & gas industry, which includes offshore drilling and construction, shipping, engineering, aviation, onshore facilities, logistics and catering. This will involve testing the absorbent capabilities of Grafysorber® in decontaminating hydrocarbons from seawater and in the treatment of industrial water. The LOI also includes the potential purchase or renting by GSP SA of the Company’s Mobile Production Unit (“MPU”) for the on-site production of Grafysorber®. The company commercially launched Grafysorber® in 2015 to clean up water contaminated with the harmful hydrocarbons contained in oil spills.
Graphene footwear coming to the market
UK company innov-8 is using graphene in sports shoes that will be hitting the market in 2018. Graphene has been incorporated into the rubber outsoles, and tests show this has made them stronger, more flexible and wear resistant. The company is collaborating with the University of Manchester to develop the footwear.
Dr Aravind Vijayaraghavan said “When added to the rubber used in innov-8’s G-Series shoes, graphene imparts all its properties, including its strength. Our unique formulation makes these outsoles 50 per cent stronger, 50 per cent more stretchy and 50 per cent more resistant to wear than the corresponding industry standard rubber without graphene.”
New graphene start-up in Ireland
This month sees a new start-up in Ireland, GrapheneXL is a new start-up in Ireland. The company are developing a process to produce high-quality, low cost and scalable high volume graphene.
Graphene sensor patent granted
Grolltex has been granted a patent by the USPTO for a new multi-modal ‘super’ sensor design made of single layer graphene. The patent is titled “Graphene-based multi-modal sensor”. The company is working on initial applications for these sensors that are targeting the bio-sensing and defence sectors.
New graphene products in 2018
Cecorelax has launched a pillow made from memory-foam enhanced with graphene, the “Graphene Memory Foam Pillow”. According to the company the pillow helps maintain body temperature during the night, and is highly resistant, light and flexible. Other product launches this month include SEC-S801BT heart rate sports earphones with graphene diaphragm from Pioneer Corporation. The Graphene diaphragm is a more superior material for earphones speaker than traditional diaphragm because its strength to weight ratio is higher, it has more accurate sound reproduction and it can deliver clarity in the mid to high frequency range. Initial sales will be in China.
Ghostek has brought to the market for the first time graphene-based headphones, the “Rapture Wireless Headphones”. According to the company the product uses 40 mm graphene drivers to deliver a “Next-Level HD Audio Experience”. partnership with Fraikin highlights the significant impact utilising regenerative braking technology and energy storage can have. This is an important first step in realising essential efficiencies for the industry and we look forward to seeing further advances in this field.”
Graphene for defence
India’s defence forces are partnering with Bangalore-based graphene start-up Log 9 Materials. The company, founded in 2015, has developed graphene-based lead acid batteries and will seek to produce batteries for the defence forces on a large scale.
Samsung develops new graphene battery
Researchers at the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) have developed a “graphene* ball,” a unique battery material that enables a 45% increase in capacity, and five times faster charging speeds than standard lithium-ion batteries. The breakthrough provides promise for the next generation secondary battery market, particularly related to mobile devices and electric vehicles. In its research, SAIT collaborated closely with Samsung SDI as well as a team from Seoul National University’s School of Chemical and Biological Engineering.
In theory, a battery based on the “graphene ball” material requires only 12 minutes to fully charge. Additionally, the battery can maintain a highly stable 60 degree Celsius temperature, with stable battery temperatures particularly key for electric vehicles. Read more at http://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-01823-7
Solar technology company Verditek PLC has signed a joint development programme with Paragraf Ltd to develop a new graphene-based solar panel. “This is an exciting development for both our organisations. The opportunity to apply the breakthrough graphene production technique developed by Paragraf to the Verditek solar cells moves us both to the cutting edge of the solar industry,” said Verditek Chairman Geoff Nesbitt.
A team of researchers from Zhejiang University has developed an aluminum-graphene battery that can be charged in seconds, instead of hours. The team, led by professor Gao Chao, from Department of Polymer Science and Engineering of Zhejiang University, designed a battery using graphene films as anode and metallic aluminum as cathode. Experiments show that the battery retains 91 percent of its original capacity after 250,000 recharges, surpassing all the previous batteries in terms of cycle life. Read more at http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/12/eaao7233
Researchers from Rice University have discovered that nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes or modified graphene nanoribbons could potentially replace platinum for fast oxygen reduction—a crucial reaction in fuel cells that transform chemical energy into electricity. The researchers used computer simulations to see how carbon nanomaterials can be improved for fuel-cell cathodes and discovered the atom-level mechanisms by which doped nanomaterials catalyze oxygen reduction reactions. The simulations also revealed why graphene nanoribbons and carbon nanotubes modified with nitrogen and/or boron are so sluggish and how they can be improved.
Read more at http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2018/NR/C7NR08061A#!divAbstract
Graphene supercapacitors company Skeleton Technologies has signed of a distribution agreement with Sumitomo Corporation Europe. The agreement aims to provide energy storage solutions to the hybrid electric and electric vehicle industry. “Ultracapacitors play an important role for high power applications in the transportation sector. Skeleton’s revolutionary technology has the potential to drive this industry forward and ensure that both manufacturers and customers alike, can reap the benefits of a hybrid approach to battery technology,” reported Hidenori Eto, General Manager of Sumitomo Corporation Europe’s Warsaw office.
