Graphene applications: what is graphene used for? - Page 27

It was recently reported that Skeleton Technologies and the Canadian automotive supplier Martinrea International are cooperating to equip refuse collection vehicles for use in Paris and New York with Skeleton’s ‘SuperBattery’ technology.

Martinrea International develops and produces electric vehicle technologies for heavy-duty commercial vehicles through its subsidiary Effenco. The aim of the agreement with the Estonia-based Skeleton is to electrify fleets of refuse collection vehicles in Europe and North America, starting in New York City and Paris, and later to make the solution developed by both companies available worldwide. In autumn 2022, Shell had already become known as the first major customer for the graphene battery solution. Shell wants to use it to create electrification solutions for mining sites.

Haydale recently announced an extension of its cooperation with Viritech, a developer of high-performance hydrogen powertrain solutions for the automotive industry. The two companies will work together on solutions for hydrogen pressure vessels, initially focusing on commercial vehicles.

In focusing on Type V, linerless pressure vessels, Viritech and Haydale are looking to develop 'the world’s most efficient vehicle storage system for gaseous hydrogen'. This technology could have wide application, including to the automotive, aerospace, and marine industries, with immediate application in the emerging market for fuel cell vans.

Researchers at the University of Georgia have developed a new graphene-enhanced foam material that could significantly reduce health care-related infections caused by implanted medical devices, as well as drastically improve cleanup efforts following environmental disasters, such as oil spills.

The 3D foam is water repellent and exhibits antimicrobial and oil-water separation properties. Its versatility and relatively inexpensive production costs could make it a valuable resource for clinicians and those specializing in environmental remediation.

Today we published a new edition of our Graphene Batteries Market Report, with all the latest information. The batteries market is extremely active, as demand from EVs and mobile applications increases research and development efforts, and graphene is seen as a potential material to increase capacity, decrease charging times and improve other performance metrics. Indeed the new edition contains over 10 new updates, with recent achievements and projects.

Reading this report, you'll learn all about:

• The advantages of using graphene in batteries
• The different ways graphene can be used in batteries
• Various types of graphene materials
• What's on the market today

The report package also provides:

• A list of all graphene companies involved with batteries
• Detailed specifications of graphene-enhanced anode materials
• Personal contact details into most graphene developers
• Free updates for a year

This Graphene Batteries market report provides a great introduction to graphene materials used in the batteries market, and covers everything you need to know about graphene in this niche. This is a great guide for anyone involved with the battery market, nanomaterials, electric vehicles and mobile devices.

The Chinese Graphene Industry Association (CGIA) was established in 2013, to help promote the graphene industry in China, and has grown to over 150 members today. Recently we talked with Minyang Lu, Deputy Secretary-General of the CGIA. Major in charge of international cooperation, some domestic projects cooperation and organizing of the GRAPCHINA conference.

Q: Hello Minyang. The CGIA has grown to be the leading graphene trade organization in China, with over 150 members. Can you describe the CGIA's main activities and work?

China Innovation Alliance of the Graphene Industry – CGIA - was established on 13th of July 2013 in Beijing. It is a consortium of industrialized enterprises, academic institutions, and research organizations that are devoted to the research and development of graphene and graphene based products. The CGIA was established in order fulfill the needs of its members and their common interests, improve industrial technology innovation, and assist with legal contracts.

A team of researchers, led by Northwestern University and the University of Texas at Austin (UT), has developed a graphene-based cardiac implant. Similar in appearance to a temporary tattoo, the new graphene “tattoo” implant is thinner than a single strand of hair yet still functions like a classical pacemaker. But unlike current pacemakers and implanted defibrillators, which require hard, rigid materials that are mechanically incompatible with the body, the new device softly melds to the heart to simultaneously sense and treat irregular heartbeats. The implant is thin and flexible enough to conform to the heart’s delicate contours as well as stretchy and strong enough to withstand the dynamic motions of a beating heart.

After implanting the device into a rat model, the researchers demonstrated that the graphene tattoo could successfully sense irregular heart rhythms and then deliver electrical stimulation through a series of pulses without constraining or altering the heart’s natural motions. The technology also is optically transparent, allowing the researchers to use an external source of optical light to record and stimulate the heart through the device.

A Penn State-led international collaboration has developed a self-powered, standalone sensor system capable of monitoring gas molecules in the environment or in human breath. The system combines nanogenerators with micro-supercapacitors to harvest and story energy generated by human movement. 

The researchers' tech should cost up to just a few dollars for materials and uses widely available equipment. The development is the culmination of years of work led by corresponding author Huanyu “Larry” Cheng, James L. Henderson Jr. Memorial Associate Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Penn State.

Haydale recently announced it will be partnering with CERN, the European particle physics laboratory, on a new project aimed at improving the durability of the lubricants currently used on some of the world’s largest particle physics equipment including the Large Hadron Collider.

Polymers in the oils and greases currently used are heavily susceptible to radiation damage leading to degradation of the lubricant. Using Haydale’s HDPlas® process, the aim is to increase the lifetime of the lubricants by adding functionalized nanomaterials, including graphene. The goal is to increase the material’s resistance and better dispersion characteristics should help to achieve this. As well as the potential for significant cost savings, increasing the service life of the lubricants in use is perhaps even more important given the highly limited access there is in these areas.

A research team at Chalmers University of Technology, Lund University and Uppsala University in Sweden have managed to create a device made of a two-dimensional magnetic quantum material that can work in room temperature. Quantum materials with magnetic properties are believed to pave the way for ultra-fast and considerably more energy efficient computers and mobile devices, but until now, these types of materials tended to only work in extremely cold temperatures. 

The group of researchers has been able to demonstrate, for the very first time, a new two-dimensional magnetic material-based device at room temperature. They used an iron-based alloy (Fe₅GeTe₂) with graphene which can be used as a source and detector for spin polarized electrons. The breakthrough is believed to enable a range of technical applications in several industries as well as in our everyday lives.

Levidian has announced a deal with Luxembourg construction company Stugalux to bring its innovative decarbonization technology to mainland Europe for the first time. 

Levidian’s LOOP device uses a patented low temperature, low pressure process to crack methane into its constituent atoms, hydrogen and carbon, without the need for catalysts of additives. The carbon is locked away in the form of graphene. Stugalux will be deploying LOOP to process biomethane produced from food and agricultural waste. This gas will be cracked into its constituent atoms by LOOP, with the resultant hydrogen-rich blend combusted in a turbine to generate electricity while reducing carbon emissions. The graphene produced by LOOP will be integrated into the building products used by Stugalux to improve performance and drive further decarbonization.