SaltX Technology, a Swedish company that develops and sells a technology with which energy can be stored in salt and recovered in the form of heat or cold, has entered into definitive agreements with a graphene company in order to use graphene in its SaltX product.

The idea is to take advantage of graphene's heat conductivity to enhance the performance of the SaltX material by up to five times. The collaboration project starts immediately and is expected to deliver the first batches of graphene material already next year.

Researchers from Zhejiang University in China have developed a safe, flexible, fast-charging aluminum-graphene battery. The team's design relies on using graphene films as the anode and metallic aluminum as the cathode. It was reported that the battery could work well after quarter-million cycles and can be fully charged in seconds.

Experiments showed that the battery retains 91% of its original capacity after 250,000 recharges, surpassing all the previous batteries in terms of cycle life. In quick-charge mode, the battery can be fully charged in 1.1 seconds, according to the team. The assembled battery also works well in temperatures range of minus 40 to 120 degrees Celsius. It can be folded, and does not explode when exposed to fire.

Researchers at the University of Florida's Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering are developing a graphene-based membrane that aims to improve the process of dialysis treatments and reduce treatment times.

To achieve these goals, the researchers identified two things that needed addressing: the configuration of the membrane, and the material from which it was made. This membrane is based on simplicity, the team said. It is based on something that uses forces of physics, rather than brute force. I made it simple through better understanding and utilizing molecular and nanomaterials self-assembly processes.

Directa Plus recently received a purchase order from Vittoria, for 250 kilos of G+ graphene. The material is meant for use in the Italian company's range of graphene-enhanced bicycle tyres and wheels. Directa Plus says it expects to receive further orders during 2018.

Vittoria makes seven million tyres per year, and claims that adding a layer of graphene allows its tyres to remain hard on the straights but soften during braking or cornering. The Graphene+ tyres are also longer-lasting and more puncture resistant, says the Italian company, and they dissipate heat more efficiently.

Paragraf, a Cambridge-based graphene technology developer, has announced a joint development project targeting new solar technology with Verditek, a clean technology company. The objective is to harness the potential advantages of graphene to improve the output of solar power generation over state of the art cells and panels.

Paragraf’s proprietary manufacturing process of large scale, high quality graphene will be used for integration with Verditek's solar technology. The program will investigate, develop and verify the application of graphene to solar devices, imparting the advanced electrical and mechanical properties of graphene to solar cells to realize a new generation of highly robust, ultra-light weight panels that will potentially revolutionize the photovoltaic market.

Swinburne researchers have received 3.45 million AUD (around $2.64 USD) in funding to continue work on a project investigating energy storage alternatives using graphene oxide. Swinburne will receive the grant as part of the Cooperative Research Centres Projects (CRC-P) funds commissioned by the Australian Government. The Swinburne Centre for Micro-Photonics is collaborating with Flinders University as well as First Graphene and Kremford.

The ‘High performance energy storage alternative to lithium ion batteries’ project is working towards creating commercially viable and chemical-free batteries using graphene. This involves the production of a graphene oxide-based supercapacitor. Swinburne Researchers are developing the Bolt Electricity Storage Technology (BEST) battery a graphene oxide-based supercapacitor offering high performance and low-cost energy storage.

Researchers from The City University of New York (CUNY) describe a process for creating diamene: flexible, layered sheets of graphene that temporarily become harder than diamond and impenetrable upon impact. The material is fascinating as it is as flexible and lightweight as foil but becomes stiff and hard enough to stop a bullet on impact. Such a material may be beneficial for applications like wear-resistant protective coatings and ultra-light bullet-proof films.

Photo by Red Orbit

The team worked to theorize and test how two layers of graphene could be made to turn into a diamond-like material upon impact at room temperature. The team also found the moment of conversion resulted in a sudden reduction of electric current, suggesting diamene could have interesting electronic and spintronic properties.

A research team from the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland and Sapienza University in Rome developed a new loud speaker that is driven by a light signal - and without electricity. The idea is to use modulated light that shines on a 3D graphene sponge. The audio is achieved via a highly-efficient photo-mechanism.

The researchers say that unlike conventional loudspeakers, this high-fidelity photo-speaker does not rely on vibrations to produce the sound - and it does not need any type of electrical connection or complicated system for sound generation. Using an optical pulse train, this loudspeaker allows a completely digital operation for frequencies from acoustic to ultrasound.

First Graphene has provided an update on its development of the FireStop graphene-enhanced fire retardant coating in the form of a video. Development of the FireStop material is being conducted in conjunction with the University of Adelaide as part of the Company’s participation as a Tier 1 participant in the ARC Research Hub for Graphene Enabled Industry Transformation.

The video shows the dramatic effectiveness of FireStop when applied to simple wooden structures. Whereas the untreated structure on the left is totally consumed by fire, the structure treated with the FireStop retardant doesn’t seem to catch fire even after five minutes of trying. Given that fires generally start at specific ignition points, the ability of a graphene-based retardant to stop the ignition is a key feature of the product.

As part of a collaboration between the Graphene Flagship and the European Space Agency, experiments testing graphene for two different space-related applications have been performed. These have been reported to show very promising results, based on which the Flagship is to continue the development of graphene devices for use in space.

Graphene's excellent thermal properties are promising for improving the performance of loop heat pipes, thermal management systems used in aerospace and satellite applications. Graphene could also have a use in space propulsion, due to its lightness and strong interaction with light. The Graphene Flagship tested both these applications in recent experiments in November and December 2017.