July 2021

Annemiek van Vleuten of the Dutch Cycling Team recently won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in the road race, wearing a shirt printed with Directa Plus' graphene-enhanced Thermal Planar Circuit technology.

The shirts for the Dutch National Cycling Team used a high performance print made using Directa Plus' sustainable G+ graphene. TPC absorbs the heat produced by the body, distributing it inside the garment and dissipating it by interacting with the surrounding environment.

Korean archer Kim Je-deok recently won two gold medals at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, using a graphene-enhanced bow.

The bow was the creation of Korean sports equipment manufacturer Win&Win. The Company's' WIAWIS brand of bows also includes aluminum bows, and the athletes reportedly chose between aluminum and graphene bows based on their preferences.

Researchers from Kansas State University, led by Suprem Das, assistant professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering, in collaboration with Christopher Sorensen, university distinguished professor of physics, have shown potential ways to manufacture graphene-based nano-inks for additive manufacturing of supercapacitors in the form of flexible and printable electronics.

The team’s work could be adapted to integrate supercapacitors to overcome the slow-charging processes of batteries. Furthermore, Das has been developing additive manufacturing of small supercapacitors — called micro-supercapacitors — so that one day they could be used for wafer-scale integration in silicon processing.

ZTE recently launched the Axon 30, which reportedly uses a graphene-based cooling system. To be exact, the phone is said to have a triple ice cooling system comprising a large VC cooling plate, high power thermal gel, and graphene copper-based composite material.

The Axon 30 is launching first in China, but ZTE says the global version is coming soon.

Gnanomat’s advanced materials were reportedly confirmed as competitive bifunctional catalysts in the air electrode of Secondary Zinc-air batteries (SZAB).

The tests carried out in SZAB prototypes using Gnanomat´s advanced materials as bifunctional catalysts for the air electrode showed outstanding performance in charge and discharge modes. In addition, the tests performed in prototype cells also showed great stability and cyclability, addressing one of the most challenging drawbacks of this technology.

Mason Graphite has announced the launch of Black Swan Graphene Inc., and the execution of a Definitive Agreement pursuant to which Mason Graphite has agreed, through Black Swan Graphene, to purchase strategic assets related to a patented graphene processing technology from Thomas Swan, a leading UK-based specialty chemical company.

On closing of the joint-venture Transaction, Mason Graphite and Thomas Swan will own respectively 66.67% and 33.33% of Black Swan Graphene, which is expected to proceed to a going-public transaction in the coming months.

Tirupati Graphite has commissioned Stage 1 of the Tirupati graphene and mintech research center (TGMRC) in India. Tirupati says this marks the start of revenue generation at TGMRC and allows the company to advance commercialization engagements.

In Stage 1, the facility can initially produce up to 1 kilogram per day of graphene oxide ('GO'), reduced graphene oxide ('rGO') and aluminium graphene composite via the zero-chemical process developed by the company. Ongoing development and expansion of the facility will enable up to 10 kgs per day.

Ski equipment maker Folsom is launching new graphene-enhanced custom skis. Folsom is collaborating with MITO Materials, to add the graphene into Folsom Custom Skis resin. The graphene is said to increase performance, reduce weight and improve the product's toughness and endurance.

Towards the end of 2020, Folsom produced three custom skis, that adopt the new graphene-enhanced resin. These skis were tested throughout the season, and Folsom said there are "notable improvements in the flex, dampening, and structural properties that you could quantify in the lab and on the slopes". Folsom will start offering graphene-enhanced skis in its next generation 2021 line, which will start shipping in September 2021.

Australia-based battery case developer Vaulta has been awarded a Federal Government grant to commercialize its battery casings for the electric vehicle market.

Vaulta received a grant of AUD$297,500 (around USD$219,000) from the Federal Government’s Accelerating Commercialization grants program to commercialize its low-cost and light-weight graphene-enhanced battery modules.

Researchers at MIT and Harvard University have previously found that graphene can have exotic properties when situated at a 'magic angle'. Now, a new study by some of the members of the same team shows that this material could also be a "spin-triplet" superconductor one that isn't affected by high magnetic fields which potentially makes it even more useful.

"The value of this experiment is what it teaches us about fundamental superconductivity, about how materials can behave, so that with those lessons learned, we can try to design principles for other materials which would be easier to manufacture, that could perhaps give you better superconductivity," says physicist Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).