Description
This month Dr. Vivek Koncherry won a high-profile award for his Graphene Innovations Manchester (GIM) Ltd company. He was recognised as an innovator in the sustainability category organised by the Spectator magazine, the world’s oldest weekly publication and a favourite of the British political establishment. This led to other influencers and commentators talking about graphene which is no bad thing.
Graphene was also one of the topics of debate in the USA. The COSM 2023 technology summit discussed flash graphene with one of Prof James Tour’s researchers catching the limelight. The founder of the event described graphene as “the biggest market opportunity in the world”. That got the attention of the thought leaders and futurists present in the audience.
There are technologies emerging this month that the technology leaders will become aware of in the coming years. Graphene continues to surprise me. Researchers in India have discovered that a coating of graphene on glass will stop it being scratched by a diamond. As you will be aware diamonds are just about the hardest substance known and will scratch anything – apart from graphene. Just a few thin atomic layers of graphene are enough to protect the glass surface. If this was not surprising enough, the same research revealed that the diamond-graphene interaction had an extremely low friction. It was so slippery it could be classed as a super lubricant. This could lead to dry lubricant coatings that potentially last a very long time with no maintenance or wear.
Our special features this month look at how graphene super laminate burns (spoiler alert – it doesn’t). Graphene is also being used as a fire retardant in next generation buildings that are being developed by Vector Homes, a spin out company from the Graphene Engineering innovation Centre (GEIC) in Manchester. This innovative start-up has already built its first prototype house that is undergoing energy efficiency tests.
As I write this, COP28 is just starting in the UAE. We expect graphene to feature prominently. You may recall UK graphene company Levidian announced a £700 million deal with the UAE for its graphene manufacturing and carbon capture units. The company is setting up an office in Abu Dhabi to drive the project forward as the progress has been slower than they might have expected. This brings us back where we started with Vivek. You will also recall he has done a deal with the UAE that has created the world’s first billion-dollar graphene company Giga Graphene Technologies (GGT). Vivek kept some of the intellectual property for his waterless concrete in his GIM company in Manchester. This is what won him the award from the Spectator magazine. A very smart person, watch him do impressive things. In the meantime you can look at other impressive things in yet another packed issue.
Adrian Nixon
1st December 2023
