Italy's Directa Plus inaugurated their new graphene factory in Lomazzo, Como, Italy. This plant produces graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) and has a 30-ton yearly capacity - which the company says is the largest such production plant in Europe. The company says that this is just the first phase of this plant.

The plant will produce Directa Plus' four carbon material types: super-expanded graphite, pristine GNPs, water-dispersed GNPs and fine nanographite powder. All of those materials are marketed under the G+ brand.

Last month we reported that researchers from Beijing are developing graphene-enhanced titanium alloys that may be useful as a new material for aircraft. Today we learn that the Chinese are not alone in their graphene efforts for the aerospace industry.

So first up with a new research by the University of Manchester, that developed new carbon fibers using a composite material made from two layers of polymer with a graphene sheet placed between them. Using Raman Spectroscopy, the researchers measured these fibers and found them to be very strong, even when stretched. The researchers say that these can be used to make structural, lightweight components for fuel efficient cars and aircraft.

Researchers are developing flash memory devices that store the charge in nanocrystals instead of the usually used polysilicon layers. These kinds of devices are less sensitive to local defects and offer high-density memory potential.

Researchers from Samsung Electronics (and Korea's Kyung Hee University) are now developing similar flash devices based on graphene quantum dots (GQDs). The performance of such a device is promising, with an electron density that is comparable to semiconductor and metal nanocrystal based memories. Those flash memory can also be made flexible and transparent.

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Perpetuus Carbon Group announced another partnership, this time with Cientifica. The two companies aim to bring together graphene technology, market demand and finance to the UK. They also want to create an integrated value chain - from graphene production to consumer and industrial applications. As part of the collaboration, Perpetuus will provide technical support to Cientifica’s planned product development.

As part of the press release, Perpetuus says that Finland's G-Heat Limited developed a new infrared heating technology. G-Heat use flat panel heaters that are based on graphene. Those heaters emit infrared light at wave-lengths precisely tailored for maximum comfort and minimum energy use. G-Heat says that their heaters will maintain the same level of comfort like conventional heaters, but will consume up to 70% less energy. It's not clear from the release, but I guess G-Heat is using Perpetuus' graphene and is being helped by Cientifica.

Vorbeck Materials announced the Vor-Power straps, a light-weight flexible power source that can be attached to any existing bag strap to enable a mobile charging station (via 2 USB and one micro USB ports). The Vor-Power strap weighs 450 grams and provides 7,200 mAh. And it's probably the world's first graphene-enhanced battery.

The Vor-Power strap is also very rugged - it is water resistant and can survive a drop of over 24 meters. You can pre-order it now for $89.99 (the regular price, after July 15, will be $129.99). Vorbeck will ship this product by July. They also offer custom versions with your logo or marketing message.

Perpetuus Carbon Group and OXIS Energy agreed to co-develop graphene-based electrodes for lithium-sulphur (Li-S) batteries.

OXIS is already developing Li-S batteries, and the collaboration with Perpetuus will enable them to develop even higher performing devices. Perpetuus says that those next-gen graphene-enabled batteries will offer an energy density in the order of 400 watt-hours per Kg - significantly higher than current Li-Ion batteries. This may enable electric cars to drive up to 800 kilometers on a single battery charge.

Grafoid announced that it is going to acquire ALCERECO for $1.25 million CAD (about $1.15 million USD). ALCERECO is a technology company that develops, tests and produces advanced materials, composites, alloys and coatings. The company's best known materials are aluminum-scandium alloys, specialty ceramics, rare earths and advanced composite materials.

ALCERECO caters for several markets, including aerospace, automotive, electronics, sporting goods, infrastructural and mining sectors. The company has a global customer base and production facilities that Grafoid says can be used to develop innovative, scalable processes to bring new MesoGraf graphene-based materials to market.

Australian graphite company, Bora Bora Resources (ASX: BBR) signed an agreement to exclusively supply Monash University with graphite from its Matale Graphite project in Sri Lanka. The same agreement also gives Bora Bora the exclusive right to develop a commercialization plan with Monash University for each of the three patents developed by Prof Dan Li and his team at the University.

Using natural graphite as the starting material, Prof Dan Li’s group at Monash University has developed a chain of platform technologies for cost-effective, scalable synthesis/processing and multi-scale structural engineering of graphene-based macroscopic materials. The research team developed graphene gel-based films and foams incorporate well-designed hierarchical structures with potential applications in energy storage/conversion, membrane separation, biomedicine, ultrasensitive sensors and aerospace materials.

The Ningbo government in China decided to help build the local graphene industry as part of its strategic industry plans. The government will launch several graphene projects as part of its "medium and long-term plan for the technological innovation and industrial development of the graphene industry (2014 2023) in Ningbo" plan.

Ningo government will help support three stages of the graphene market - raw materials, graphene composite materials and equipment and final products.