Description
In this fast-moving world of graphene and 2d materials it is worth taking a moment to stop and think. Before 2004, the mainstream view in science was that 2D materials could not exist as isolated one atom thin layers. Now, just 17 years later, graphene is produced at industrial scale.
Graphene applications that make the headlines are primarily due to graphene as a powder or liquid dispersion additive enhancing other materials. However, as we have seen over the past year, chemical vapour deposition (CVD) graphene is starting to be made industrially as a monolayer on metal foils.
Graphene enhanced concrete made the headlines again this month. Nationwide Engineering and the GEIC have been busy with their Concretene. A 50×14 m mezzanine floor suspended slab has been poured at a commercial development in Manchester, UK. The pour was so successful, the concrete finishing team could polish the surface at one end of the room while the concrete was still being poured at the other end.
US based company GraphWear has developed a wearable wrist watch sensor that can monitor blood glucose levels constantly without the need for a needle. What is notable about this company is they have successfully conducted clinical trials, to prove the results from their watch sensor correlate with lab measured blood glucose levels. Their efforts have been rewarded with $20.5m of series B funding.
Chinese scooter manufacturer Yadea is doing something really interesting with batteries. Nearly everyone is working on lithium-ion batteries (with modest results). Yadea have focussed on improving lead acid batteries. They have improved the capacity of the battery by up to 25%, improved its winter cold temperature performance and extended its operating life.
Staying with the battery theme, GMG group is spending some of the $11.5 million it raised last month. The company has announced a collaboration with Bosh to design and develop a manufacturing plant for its graphene-aluminium ion coin cell batteries.
So, it seems the main developments for graphene in batteries are technologies that move away from lithium-ion technology.
Adrian Nixon,
1st November 2021
