Polish Startup Has Reportedly Started Producing Graphene

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Commercial graphene production has reportedly begun in Poland, the first place this supermaterial is being produced commercially.

Living in Poland for 5½ years, I can tell you that there is a very high number of tech geeks/experts here, but I have to admit that this news came to me from a CleanTechnica reader. Following an article I published about Lux Research’s projections regarding when graphene and other advanced materials might be commercialized, this reader sent me two links about a Polish startup that has reportedly just begun producing graphene.

The startup, established back in 2011 (before graphene was on the radar of most of us), is co-owned by mining giant KGHM (where my father-in-law and brother-in-law actually work) and the Industrial Development Agency (ARP). It is using technology that was developed at the Institute of Electronic Materials Technology in Warsaw.

Here’s some more information on the technique used: “The method, an adaptation of epitaxy, relies on the crystallization of carbon from an outer source, which means the carbon is settled down in the form of a one or two atom thick layer on the surface. The EMT says that the process is efficient and cheap and uses commercially available equipment.”

In a Polish solar PV engineering publication, Prime Minister Donald Tusk is reported to have commented on the achievement while attending the opening of the production facility, calling it a historic moment. That report notes that this is the only company commercially producing graphene. Indeed, the Lux Research article I noted at the top projected that “graphene’s major commercial inflection point is still off in the future – expect graphene to begin to find widespread use in battery electrodes or conductive composites around 2025.”

Of course, graphene has many insane, unprecedented properties. To catch up on those, scroll through our graphene archives. Some of the industries it could make a big difference in include solar power and energy storage.

Perhaps I should swing over to Warsaw and find out more about this reportedly breakthrough production process and the product links it is currently targeting.

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Image via INŻYNIERPV.