Graphene-Info newsletter, November 2016
Published: Tue, 12/06/16
Graphene makes headway in the audio market
ORA, a Canada-based early-stage startup that develops graphene-enhanced audio equipment, has unveiled its graphene oxide-based composite material, dubbed grapheneQ. The material was thus named because of its low density and high stiffness, that reportedly allow for louder drivers that have a lower Q resonance, and has been specially designed for use in acoustic transducers.
Also announced this month was Israeli audio pioneer Waves Audio’s plans to develop an innovative electrostatic speaker using a nanoscale active membrane based on graphene, in collaboration with the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The new speaker will hopefully achieve significant energy savings, and Waves and the Virginia Polytechnic received funding from the US Department of Energy (DOE) and Israel's Ministry of National Infrastructure as part of the BIRD Energy program.
Xiaomi, the large Chinese mobile phone maker, launched a new in-ear headphones, called ‘Piston 3 Pro’, that according to reports from various websites and blogs makes use of a ‘graphene diaphragm’ that helps in producing more natural sounds. The use of graphene, however, was not mentioned in the Xiaomi official website.
Huawei introduces new high-temperature Li-Ion batteries that use graphene to reduce operation temperature and increase lifetime
Huawei unveiled a new Li-Ion battery that can remain functional at higher temperature (60° degrees as opposed to the existing 50° limit) and offers a longer operation time - double than what can be achieved with previous batteries.
To achieve this breakthrough, Huawei incorporated several new technologies - including an anti-decomposition additives in the electrolyte, chemically stabilized single crystal cathodes - and graphene to facilitate heat dissipation. Huawei says that the graphene reduces the battery's operating temperature by 5 degrees.
Huawei aims to use these graphene-enhanced batteries in cellular base stations, which could be now deployed without air-conditioning. it also says the batteries could find applications in drones and electric vehicles.
Updated market reports
We published new versions of our graphene batteries, supercapacitors, display and lighting market report and the graphene investment guide. Graphene-Info provides comprehensive niche graphene market reports, and our reports cover everything you need to know about these niche markets. These reports are now updated to November 2016.
Our updated market reports:
Graphene-Info visits Haydale and the NPL
A couple of weeks ago the Graphene-Info team visited the UK and went to meet the good people of Haydale and the NPL. Here are our impressions following these visits.
The Haydale visit included meeting with the company’s management and a visit to the production floor and processing rooms. We learned about ongoing activities as well as plans for the future. Haydale uses its proprietary plasma process to improve materials, make them more uniform in quality and tailor them to specific requirements and then uses these materials to create intermediate materials - inks, coatings, composite materials (and masterbatches) and 3D filaments. Haydale is working with customers to take these materials and use them in various graphene-enhanced products. For more information, click here.
At the NPL (National Physical Laboratory) we were given a tour of the facilities and the graphene labs and met with several key researchers and the business development team. The NPL is the UK's national measurement institute, and is a world-leading measurement standards institute - and certainly one of the leading institutes in the field of graphene metrology. During our visit, we learned about three exciting recent research activities: a new microwave contact-less process to measure graphene conductivity, a new process to remove organic contamination from graphene sheets and a new system to measure quantum hall resistance that is in the process of being commercialized. To learn more, click here.
Biolin Scientific commercializes a graphene oxide sensor developed by ICN2
A graphene oxide (GO) sensor co-developed by the ICN2 Nanobioelectronics and Biosensors group has recently been added to the list products offered by Biolin Scientific, a prestigious instrumentation company devoted to the production of analytical devices.
The Q-Sense GO sensor enables interaction studies of GO with various analytes (measured substances) of interest and may open the door to various applications with interest for diagnostics, safety/security and environmental monitoring.
Graphene-enhanced helmet allows for better distribution of impact force
Graphene Flagship partner IIT, in collaboration with Italian design company Momodesign, announced the development of a graphene-coated motorcycle helmet that reportedly allows better distribution of impact force. This makes the helmet less susceptible to damage compared to helmets without graphene, even in high temperatures. The result is described as a helmet that improves thermal comfort as well as safety.
In the new helmet, graphene is added into the outer shell as a coating, providing a protective effect to the inner materials of the helmet. This effect was described as a graphene "shelter": the excellent heat-conductive properties of graphene dissipate heat quickly across the helmet, and protect the inner materials from degradation caused by heat. An initial run of 3,000 helmets have been produced for sale in specialty markets and major motoring showrooms.
Graphenea announces a new Easy Transfer graphene CVD transfer process
Graphenea launched a new graphene transfer procedure, which they call "Easy Transfer". The CVD graphene maker says this is the easiest way to transfer mono layer graphene onto any substrate. The Easy Transfer process avoids metal etching and any hazardous chemical handling, and the thin film manipulation is done at Graphenea's plant.
Easy Transfer is available in 1x1 cm and 1x1 inch sizes, and can be used to cut lead time and research work. Companies are welcome to send their substrates to Graphenea for coatings. The price for this process is $80 for 1x1cm and $120 for 1x1 inch.
Versarien updates
Versarien, the advanced materials group, announced the receipt of a significant graphene order for a carbon fibre composite related OEM application. Versarien has received an order with a value of over £100,000 (around $124,900 USD) for graphene in the form of Few Layer Graphene Nano Platelets (GNPs) from a European commercial customer, in conjunction with the NGI. This graphene will be certified by the NGI and Versarien will be handling the dispersion of the GNPs into the resin to be used by the customer. The resin will be provided by the customer free of charge and will be returned to the customer in Europe once mixed with Versarien's GNPs.
Versarien also recently announced the purchase of AAC Cyroma, a specialist plastic manufacturer, for about £1.4m to establish a dedicated graphene plastic manufacturing factory. Using Versarien's graphene manufacturing capabilities and AAC Cyroma's knowledge, plant and equipment, the acquisition will aim to enable the company to produce graphene-enhanced products, including automotive-related original equipment.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge in the UK and Jiangnan University in China have designed a low-cost, sustainable and environmentally-friendly method for making conductive cotton textiles using graphene-based ink.
The Graphene Flagship's Italian partner CNR-ISOF has found that it is possible to use graphene to produce fully flexible NFC antennas, and the Graphene Flagship researchers designed an antenna that could exchange information with near-field communication devices such as a mobile phone, matching the performance of conventional metallic antennas.
Researchers from Fujitsu present a new novel graphene-enhanced gas sensor device in which graphene has been employed as gate electrode for an n-channel silicon transistor. The sensor exhibits sensitivities over an order of magnitude better than conventional resistivity-based graphene gas sensors - easily detecting 7 ppb of No2.
Directa Plus has launched Directa Textile Solutions (DTS), a new company set up to commercialize graphene-enhanced textile membranes for the growing market of smart textiles.
Graphene 3D Lab unveiled a new product developed from the G6-Impact material. The G6-Impact filament will feature semi-rigidness prints with outstanding vibration damping and shock absorbing properties and will be targeted towards engineers and professional 3D printing users interested in the areas of vibration damping, thermoformed parts, and printing models or prototypes for use in the automotive, construction, robotics, or aerospace industry.
Zenyatta Ventures has announced the delivery of 10 kilograms of high-purity graphite to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and Larisplast in Israel for the start of the next phase of testing of a pilot plant scale program.
Israel-based graphene quantum-dots (GQD) developer Dotz Nano has successfully concluded its IPO and is now listed in the Australian stock exchange under the ticker ASX:DTZ. Dotz Nano raised $6 million AUD and the shares doubled in the first day of trading. Following the IPO, Dotz Nano signed a memorandum of understanding with Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) to establish a graphene quantum dots application research center.
Graphenea, the Spain-based graphene producer, has teamed up with scientists from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands to design graphene-based "mechanical pixels" that could, among other applications, be someday used as colored pixels in e-readers and other low-powered screens.
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