Graphene Flagship Initiative Gets First Associated Members

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The Graphene Flagship — an initiative intended to bring together researchers, engineers, and corporations interested in advancing graphene-based technologies — recently welcomed its first four associated members.

Those first four associated members — ABB (Switzerland), Netzsch (Germany), NetComposites (UK), and Imerys (Switzerland) — represent what is simply one of the first steps (ideally) towards the creation of a large, pan-European organization dedicated to the exploitation of the (potentially) highly useful material.

Graphene - Credit: nobeatsofierce/Shutterstock.

As it stands currently, the Graphene Flagship is comprised of 142 partners in 23 different countries.

Now you may be asking yourself, “Well, what’s the difference between being one of those 142 ‘partners’ and being an ‘associated member’?” And that’s a good question.

The purpose of the introduction of the new “associated members” is, reportedly, to aid and facilitate the alignment and flow of information between the initiative and other entities.

Here’s a bit of background on the new associated members:

  • ABB – a global leader in power and automation technologies
  • NetComposites – a global research, consultancy and online media company focusing on the composite materials industry
  • Imerys Graphite & Carbon – previously TimCal, one of the world’s leading suppliers of graphite for energy storage, engineering materials and conductive polymers
  • Netzsch– an industrial tool supplier specialising in mechanical grinding, milling, dispersion and de-aeration.

Graphene Flagship director Jari Kinaret commented: “We are very happy to welcome our first four associated members. The flagship is much more than just the EU-financed part, and we are keen to form partnerships with groups that help the flagship reach its overriding goal, taking graphene and related materials from academic laboratories into society.”

While the initiate could very well lead to a wider adoption of the “wonder material,” there are still a number of issues to be addressed before graphene can be economically used on the industrial scale. Obviously, though, there’s money to be made there…. So, we’ll see.

Related Stories:

What Is Graphene? (Infographic)

500-Mile Tesla Graphene Battery?

$10 Bet Leads To New Synthetic Graphene

New 3D-Printed Battery Packs Graphene Punch

Graphene Production Has Reportedly Begun In Poland

Image Credit: Graphene Via Shutterstock


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James Ayre

James Ayre's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy.

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