Graphene Flagship: Europe's $1 billion graphene initiative - Page 6

The Graphene Flagship recently launched an Airbus-Backed Project for graphene-based thermoelectric ice protection systems. Now, Versarien announced that it has been selected to participate in that project.

The Project, which is categorized by the Graphene Flagship as a Spearhead, large-scale commercialization project, aims to develop graphene-based thermoelectric ice protection systems and to advance the technology readiness level of graphene in these systems.

The Graphene Flagship has announced the launch of eleven new "Spearhead Projects", each developed to take graphene-enabled prototypes to commercial applications. Now, the Graphene Flagship has committed 45 million Euro to invest in eleven commercialization projects led by key industrial partners in Europe such as Airbus, Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles, Lufthansa Technik, Siemens, and ABB. Notably, the project partners will also co-fund the projects with a further combined contribution of 47 million Euro, showing their interest in the development of graphene-enabled products.

The newly launched projects combine the results of the Graphene Flagship's innovative scientific research with the ambitions of commercial partners for marketable applications. This initiative will bring the number of companies involved in the Graphene Flagship to 78, which makes up nearly half of the whole consortium.

The Graphene Flagship has announced the GICE Spearhead Project - development of a graphene-based thermoelectric ice protection system, that will aim to advance the technology readiness of graphene in such applications.

If ice accumulates on the wings, propellers or other surfaces of an aircraft, control can be dangerously inhibited. Thermoelectric ice protection systems prevent this from happening, using an ultra-thin conductive coating layer to generate heat when current is applied. The GICE project will attempt to use graphene to improve existing technology for this application.

Graphene Flagship partners the University of Bologna, Politecnico di Milano, CNR, NEST, Italcementi HeidelbergCement Group, the Israel Institute of Technology, Eindhoven University of Technology, and the University of Cambridge have developed a graphene-titania photocatalyst that degrades up to 70% more atmospheric nitrogen oxides (NOx) than standard titania nanoparticles in tests on real pollutants.

To address the problem of atmospheric pollution, researchers worldwide are on the hunt for new ways to remove pollutants from the atmosphere, and photocatalysts such as titania are a good way to do this. When titania is exposed to sunlight, it degrades nitrogen oxides which are very harmful to human health and volatile organic compounds present at the surface, oxidizing them into inert or harmless products.

A research team led by Graphene Flagship partners Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Italy, and Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, together with a team at the University of Modena, Italy, has created a new qualitative graphene-based sensor for morphine, that could be used by police to detect opiate abuse using suspects' urine samples.

Morphine is the main metabolite of heroin. The new sensor provides a fast-acting 'rough test' that yields a positive response if morphine concentration in urine exceeds a certain threshold. The sensor could be used by police forces during criminal investigations and roadside stops, in a similar way to how breathalyzers are used to test alcohol levels in suspected drunk drivers.

Tetra Pak has joined the Graphene Flagship project as the exclusive representative from the packaging industry to explore possible future applications of graphene in food and beverage manufacturing.

As part of the programme, packaging material innovations are being examined to see how graphene could offer coatings to reduce carbon footprint in the packaging supply chain.

Graphene Flagship partners, Université Libre de Bruxelles, University of Pisa and the University of Cambridge, in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC), recently launched The Materials Science Experiment Rocket (MASER) into space. The objective is to test the printing of graphene patterns on silicon substrates in zero gravity conditions.

The experiment aims to test the possibilities of printing graphene inks in space. Studying the different self-assembly modes of graphene into functional patterns in zero-gravity will enable the fabrication of graphene electronic devices during long-term space missions, as well as help understand fundamental properties of graphene printing on Earth. This mission is also a first step towards the investigation of graphene for radiation shielding purposes, an essential requirement of manned space exploration.

Graphene Flagship partner, Emberion, will be launching a VIS-SWIR graphene photodetector at Laser World of Photonics, from 24 to 27 June in Munich, Germany. The linear array covers a wide spectral range, detecting wavelengths from the visible at 400nm into the shortwave infrared up to 1,800nm. Traditionally, it would require both silicon and InGaAs sensors to image across this wavelength range.

Emberion estimates that replacing a system using silicon and InGaAs sensors with its graphene photodetector would result in a 30% cost reduction.

A research group at the University of Tartu in Estonia has been working on a graphene-enhanced sensor nose for five years and presented their latest prototype in February at the Barcelona World Mobile Congress in the Graphene Pavilion.

The prototype does not look anything like a mobile phone yet; it is quite big and would not fit in a pocket. But it already has a processor, Bluetooth, GPS and touchscreen. ‘We met many people there who really needed it and were a little disappointed that we didn’t have the product ready yet,’ says Raivo Jaaniso, head of the laboratory and a senior research fellow at the University of Tartu. But big breakthroughs always require time and the project is halfway complete, with plenty of work and experimenting ahead for the next four years.

The Graphene Flagship has announced a call out for new industrial partners to bring specific industrial and technology transfer competences or capabilities that complement the present GF consortium in the next core project (Core 3).

The Graphene Flagship is looking for companies with specific expertise - for example MRAM tools developers to leverage solutions for graphene-spintronic stacks, developers of graphene related materials based laser systems and instrumentations for coherent Raman imaging, makers of graphene-based fibers, yarns and textiles, automotive companies with expertise in fuel-cells, industrial graphene-based supercapacitors makers and more.