Researchers from the DoE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) developed a micro-battery based on fluorinated graphene that features double the energy density compared to current micro batteries (silver oxide ones) used in Salmon fish monitoring (these batteries are injected together with wireless transmitters into the fish when they are young to track their movement). The researchers say that this new battery can revolutionize the biotelemetry world.

To create this new battery, the researchers used an improved "jellyroll" design - stacked battery layers are laminated on top of each other and then rolled up. The layers are separated by the graphene-fluorinated cathode (the anode is made of lithium).

UK-based TBA Electro Conductive Products will soon release a new sprayable transparent conductive coating based on a CNT and graphene platelets (GNP) hybrid material. TBA are targeting the food, electronics, pharmaceuticals and petrochemicals markets.

TBA says that the new ATEX-compliant product is available as a clear, anti-static aerosol, and it will also be available as bulk paint. Its application will safeguard electronic equipment used in explosive environments and bring it up to European standards. The product will cost around £20 to £30 per liter which will be enough to cover at least four square meters. The company says it will be very cheap - comparable clear conductive plastic sheeting that cover 2 square meters costs around £600.

Researchers from the University of Luxembourg developed a new materiel which resembles graphene but is made from "traditional semiconductor materials". This so-called "artificial graphene" could be useful in many applications, including electronics, optics, solar cells, lasers and LEDs.

The artificial graphene has the same honeycomb structure as graphene, but it uses nanometer-thick semiconductor crystals instead of carbon atoms. The material's properties can be tuned by changing the size, shape and chemical nature of those nano crystals.

Last month Cientifica signed an exclusivity agreement with London Graphene to develop technology using graphene for energy storage. Today Cientifica announced that London Graphene signed an option agreement with ISIS Innovation (the technology transfer office for the University of Oxford) to license a patent filed by Isis Innovation.

This patent application details a 2D nanomaterial CVD-based production process that can be used to make high quality graphene on copper foil. This patent will be used in the company's energy storage project, and in fact the option is exclusive to the fields of capacitors and batteries.

The UK's Technology Strategy Board (TSB) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) launched a £2.5 million ($4.1 million) funding competition to accelerate commercial graphene applications.

This competition will invest in projects that "explore the realistic potential of graphene to yield new products that could disrupt markets", and will look at projects from small, medium and large companies.

Yole Developments released a new graphene market report, in which they forecast that in 2024 the graphene material market will reach $141 million, driven mainly by transparent conductive electrodes and energy storage applications.

According to Yole, the market in 2013 was about $11 million, and it will grow slowly till 2017. In 2019 the market will experience faster growth (35.7% CAGR).

Researchers from Rome, Italy, developed a new method for graphene identification. The researchers use diamond-like C KVV spectrum excited by soft X-rays.

This new method provides fast and nondestructive graphene measurement. The researchers say it is a very reliable method that even works for composite materials that contain graphene flakes.

Researchers from France, the US and Germany managed to produce graphene ribbons (GNRs) in which electrons move freely. Those ballistic-at-room-temperature ribbons (ballistic means that there is no resistance) can be produced easily and in large volume, and may find many applications in electronics.

The GNRs are 40 nm wide and feature very high structural quality. The main challenge was to ensure that the edges of the ribbons remained highly ordered. To achieve that, the researcher started with silicon carbide as a substrate, which was etched to have nanometer-deep steps. The graphene ribbons where synthesized directly on the sidewalls of these steps.

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and the Qingdao University of Science and Technology are studying drug delivery systems based on graphene oxide nanocomposite films. They found a way to consistently release anti-inflammatory drugs by applying electricity. Such a technique can be useful to treat epilepsy for example - when medication is "waiting inside the body" and will only be released when a seizure starts.

The researchers are using polymer thin films covered with GO nanosheets. They then coat it with an anti-inflammatory drug. This structure is then coated on an electrode. Applying electric current to the electrode causes it to release the drug. By changing the size and thickness of the GO sheets, the researchers can control how much drug is carried.

Researchers from the Michigan Technological University managed to take electron microscope images of hydrated proteins using graphene. The graphene was used as the encapsulation layer which caused the water to stay out while the electrons passed freely. This is because graphene is impermeable to water.

The researchers explain that up until now hydrated samples had to be frozen and then cut in thin pieces so the electrons can pass through. But then the samples were changed of course compared to the original ones. To test the technique, the researchers first tried it on ferritin, a an important protein that stores and releases iron.