Graphene, CNTs & 2D Materials: Users, Applications, Major Producers & Start Ups

Applied Nanolayers BV (ANL) has spent the last years developing solutions for graphene production and integration, such as wafer scale growth processes and tools and wafer-to- wafer transfer processes and tools, combined with wafer scale quality analysis, and wafer scale device fabrication. We now offer a foundry service to integrate these materials on existing semiconductor technology to precisely those customers who wish to bring their graphene application to a higher TRL. This allows SME’s as well as larger companies to develop their intended 2D material device applications without having to invest upfront in expensive production infrastructure.
ANL has its own 200 mm automated CVD platform to enable the consistent growth of high- quality graphene. For the transfer ANL has developed a unique wafer-to-wafer transfer technique with dry graphene transfer. This transfer method is more reliable and easier to automate than liquid based transfer methods. It also provides better control over stress, strain and wrinkles in the graphene layer, which results in more uniform final device performance.
Next to its foundry service ANL has also developed a graphene Application Development Kit (ADK). This enables ANL’s customers to execute fast prototyping using ANL’s graphene and use a manual dry bond. This method provides the best possible results, only to be topped by ANL’s automated transfer. The ADK can be used at wafer level, but it can also be cut in pieces and transferred to individual chips or other small size applications.

Atrago is a display technology innovator that has developed a novel graphene MEMS solution. We are targeting the more advanced display sub-segments such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) glasses and heads-up displays (HUD) as the first part of a broader mainstream adoption strategy for our new technology

AR/ VR devices and HUDs require exceptional displays to enhance user experience. Currently, display manufacturers seek to achieve high resolution, high refresh rates and low power consumption. Standard technologies lack the performance and efficiency required and rely on an internal light generation causing high consumption of power. Atrago's technology combines the best performance in each category guaranteeing a premium and sustainable solution.

Atrago has developed a graphene-based electro-opto-mechanical system addressing the needs of the AR/VR and head-up displays industry. The solution is a reflective display whose pixels are mechanical micro-optical cavities made of graphene nano-sheets. The pixels can be electrically controlled to modulate ambient light and produce natural colours. This eliminates the need to use battery power to generate light in bright environments.

C12 builds next generation quantum computers powered by the most elementary material: carbon nanotubes. By utilizing single-electron spins hosted in suspended ultra-clean carbon nanotubes, we achieve the closest realization of an ideal spin qubit in vacuum. We integrate the nanotubes onto semiconductor chips thanks to our proprietary high-throughput technique. Thereby, we achieve isolated yet easily addressable qubits. Our carbon nanotube based technology can scale quantum computing, in the vein of what silicon did for classical computing. Combining the purity of carbon nanotubes and well-established semiconductor manufacturing, our innovation has the potential to process quantum information at large scale with the highest fidelity.

COphite Material is a carbon-based anode that is designed to extend the roadmap for graphite anodes. The COphite material is the world’s first known form of solid carbon monoxide (CO) at room temperature and pressure. This new material has a unique set of beneficial properties, can be produced from renewable feedstocks and is protected by fundamental issued and pending patents.

The interaction of Li atoms with a single layer of solid carbon monoxide demonstrates that Li2C6O6 configuration is energetically stable while an equivalent configuration for graphene (Li2C6) is not. The highest concentration (Li2C2O2) has a theoretical capacity of 957mAh/g and a formation energy near zero. Analysis of the band structure and density of states show that the Li donates a large fraction of its valence electron to the carbon monoxide monolayer, although there is also the formation of covalent Li–O bonds, thus facilitating the formation of Li+ ions when leaving the monolayer. These characteristics are desirable for battery anode materials and suggest that COphite material, a composite containing solid carbon monoxide, especially in multilayer form, is a promising for higher specific capacity solution. COphite materials produced with a scalable process demonstrate excellent anode performance.

COnovate is pursuing the lithium-ion battery (LIB) market for the first commercial application of the COphite material. The COphite material offers battery cell manufacturers an evolutionary drop-in solution for significantly improving battery performance and safety compared to traditional LIB cells. The material works seamlessly with incumbent anode materials and battery designs. This enables rapid industry adoption of the material with the capability to power phones for days, energize electric cars for long trips, charge power tools for numerous projects within minutes, all without risk of fire.

To increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gases, there is a growing demand for lightweight materials containing carbon. Carbon materials additives have applications in over 40 sectors, including composites, batteries, plastics, coatings, etc. Carbon materials have a wide range of physical properties and are often known as multifunctional, meaning that they can have combinations of multiple useful physical properties such as mechanical strength, low density, low or high electrical conductivity, low or high thermal conductivity, electromagnetic, corrosion resistance, and UV resistance. Carbon can be found in different allotropes, such as amorphous carbon, graphite, graphene, diamonds, fullerenes, carbon nanofoams, carbon nanofibers, fibres, and nanotubes. At Carbonova, we utilize greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide and methane) to produce carbon nanofibers more economically and sustainably.

Ceylon Graphite is a public company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange that is mining graphite technology and developing and commercializing innovative graphene and graphite applications and products. Graphite mined in Sri Lanka is known to be some of the purest in the world. It has been confirmed to be suitable for easily upgradeable for a range of applications, including the high-growth electric vehicle and battery storage markets.
Li-ion batteries are presently being investigated and commercially implemented for energy storage applications such as electric vehicles, grid energy storage or storage for renewable energies. Like other global platform technologies that came before microchips, batteries represent an enormous challenge and opportunity for today's businesses. Get batteries right, and you can create a huge competitive advantage and trillions of dollars of value (see Tesla, Neo, GM, VW, BMW). Get them wrong and face multi-billion dollar recalls and incalculable brand damage. It can be overwhelming trying to stay on top of these trends.
This talk will focus on the following key topics:
➢ Simplify Vein Graphite Ceylon graphite battery materials technology, particular An- ode Batteries materials technology, using Natural Graphite, Vein Graphite with a low carbon footprint.
➢ Battery technology is constantly evolving. While lithium-ion batteries established market dominance, there is still enormous variation across form factors chemical formulations, not to mention continuous improvements to enhance performance.
➢ Role of Graphene as an additive and appropriate utilization.

DexMat manufactures high-performance Galvorn carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers and films using a proprietary solution processing technology. We aim to supplant heavy, rigid metals used for wiring in the aerospace, wearable electronics, and medical device markets. Metal wiring is heavy and is prone to fatigue failure in electronics. Lightweight, flexible wires and cables made with DexMat materials are up to 90 % lighter, 10 times stronger, and have over 100 times higher flex life than metal wiring. Conductive CNT fiber/thread can be sewn directly into fabric or clothing, is machine washable, and is capable of picking up electrical signals from the body such as a pulse simply by being in contact with skin. Furthermore, Galvorn threads can be readily assembled into fabrics and used as dry contact electrodes for EKG measurement. DexMat is seeking to build strong relationships with leading apparel and consumer electronics companies to accelerate the development of DexMat products into wearable electronics and e-textile applications. High-tech apparel for performance athletes, medical EKG monitoring clothing, military uniforms with portable antennas for wireless communications, and wearable fabric batteries are just a few potential entry applications for DexMat CNT products.

Field-effect transistor (FET)-based biosensing devices have demonstrated advantages over other sensing methods including, high sensitivity, simplicity and rapid detection of small amounts of analytes. Further, since FETs offer an extremely small and compact form factor while eliminating the chemical steps involved in a diagnostic assay, they have shown a great deal of promise for use as the basis for Point of Need (PON) diagnostic devices. Such PON systems could fill an important gap where conventional molecular diagnostics are not readily available such as in the home. Graphene-based FETs in particular offer ultrasensitive, rapid, and accurate detection of DNA, proteins, bacteria, and viruses. Graphene can be easily functionalized to create selective surface reactions to a wide range of biological targets that can then be detected electronically. Highly specific capture/receptor molecules can be attached to the graphene surface to identify harmful pathogens with extremely high sensitively and specificity. The electrical signal that is generated on the graphene surface as a result of the pathogen target molecule binding to the capture/receptor molecule can be easily measured without any additional chemical steps or readers. The incredibly wide range of molecular targets that can be detected by graphene has created a great deal of interest in developing these sensors for use in compact PON disease diagnostic systems.
GRIP Molecular Technologies has been working in collaboration with the Department of Physics at Boston College to develop an electronic biosensor based on GFET’s for ultrasensitive multiplexed detection of respiratory viral antigens for an in-home diagnostic platform. Using aptamers as capture probes, and a GFET prototype developed at Boston College, protein detection using synthetic SARS-CoV-2 spike, Influenza HA and RSV proteins has been demonstrated at an LoD that is 50-100x more sensitive than POC based ELISA assays. In addition, these antigens have been detected at the same time on a single device with multiplexing. Using electrophoresis, detection of antibiotic resistant bacteria using peptide capture probes has also been accomplished. We will outline the device optimization enabling this breakthrough as well as next steps towards PON devices.

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Graphene One LLC is the first company to commercialize a family of textile fibers based on graphene. Trademarked Kyorene, the fibers are available in polyester nylon, viscose and UHMWPE as staple fibers and filament. The graphene is produced by Graphene One’s parent company and is converted to graphene oxide and added to the fiber at extrusion. The graphene gives the fibers bacteriostatic, odor control, and thermal regulation properties. Kyorene is now commercial in socks, underwear, denim, sportswear, bedding and more.

Fast fashion has taken over. Things are not longer meant to last. At Graphene-X we produce high-performance tech gear, built to endure a lifetime and to perform from the outdoors to the city and everything in between. What's our key ingredient? Graphene integrated fabrics that outperform every comparable benchmark in the market. We believe that producing gear that last is the best way to be a sustainable brand.

Join Jorge Barros, founder & CEO of Graphene-X in this presentation to understand how graphene makes an impact in the performance of fabrics and how they have been able to educate and develop a B2C channel starting with the forward-driven audience of Kickstarter.

GDI has developed a next generation 100% silicon anode, patented protected technology that is directly bonded to copper foil and other advanced substrates for high power and high energy. This anode technology is capable of over 2000mAh/cc in active material, and loadings as high as 5mAh/cm2. Commercial cathodes have been limited to around 4mAh/cm2 of areal energy, and at those loadings have poor power and fast charging capabilities. As a result most of the market needs to choose between high power, fast charging cell chemistries with low energy ratings, or high energy cells that cannot charge fast and have lower power. This presented GDI with the need to develop a cathode that can provide both high areal energy, and deliver high C-rates to our anode. Thus GDI has started working with a key partner on formulating a new type of cathode to match in full cells with GDI's anode.The result is a cathode with high areal loadings that can still provide the silicon anode with high power when needed, and achieve hundreds of fast charging cycles without having to switch from an energy cell format to a power cell format. As a result GDI has developed a cell architecture that can function as both an energy cell or power cell for different applications and depths of discharges, without thinning the electrodes and losing energy density.

Anyone can easily prepare graphene and graphene oxide with a Taylor reactor and have the following advantages

- Reduce time

- Increase yield

- Control particle size

- Reduce production cost

- Recycle sulfuric acid

Levidian’s patented LOOP technology provides the opportunity to decarbonise industry by cracking methane into its constituent atoms: hydrogen and carbon, which is locked into high-quality graphene. The technology’s ability to produce clean hydrogen for either immediate use as a blended gas or separation and storage can enable organisations to decarbonise by up to 40% immediately. Levidian graphene can then be used to create further decarbonisation benefits through application.

LOOP uses electromagnetic waves and a patented design to ionise methane into plasma. The methane can come from almost any source, such as natural gas or biogas. Unlike other methane cracking processes, our LOOP technology does not apply heat or use any catalysts or additives to work. The graphene created in this process is of very high quality and free from impurities – this is a result of being produced at an atomic level, rather than by a process like exfoliation. Levidian graphene enhances a material’s performance, extends its life, and can provide a number of other benefits.

This presentation will explore the various benefits of graphene as an additive. Some of these applications include coatings, paints, adhesives, oils and lubricants, composites, concrete, and battery applications – to name a few.

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Graphene is well known for improving performance properties that include corrosion resistance, barrier properties, and mechanical durability. The challenge for formulators has always been the ease of incorporation of graphene, which is extremely challenging. Graphene’s high surface area requires difficult incorporation processes and the handling of a dusty light material that could present workplace hazards.
One well-known solution to this challenge is to work with graphene dispersions, where the dry material has been uniformly wetted, stabilized and incorporated into a liquid matrix. These dispersed graphene powders can work quite well, but the limitations include relatively low graphene content, constraints imposed by the other ingredients used in the dispersion, and, most importantly, storage issues that include shelf stability and settling.
This presentation will introduce graphene composite powders that eliminate many of these problems and allow easy incorporation of graphene into many types of coating systems, including solvent based, water based and powder coatings.

Over the three plus decades since the discovery of both carbon nanotubes and fullerenes, there have been many challenges in creating viable commercial products. Manufacturability, quality, high production costs and a lack of sufficient supply has left technology developers hesitant to take the plunge. Key technology trends are now demanding higher levels of performance that can only be found with this unique set of nanocarbon materials. We are now seeing alignment between market pull, technology push, scalable supply, and acceptable price-performance proposition which will drive technology development for the next two decades.

Is graphene ready for use in a gigawatt-hour battery manufacturing?

VoltaXplore, a joint venture of NanoXplore and Martinrea has announced plans to build a gigafactory in Canada that uses graphene enhanced anodes. NanoXplore’s proprietary graphene-silicon anodes are currently used in VoltaXplore’s 18650 cylindrical cells that are manufactured in a recently commissioned demonstration battery plant in Montreal. These batteries have successfully demonstrated high specific capacity with excellent cycle life and are on track to be mass-produced in Canada. From raw materials to cylindrical cells, this talk will give you an overview of how graphene’s promise for massive energy storage is finally coming true.

NanoGraf Corporation recently validated that its novel silicon-based materials technology can enable a quantum leap in 18650 cell performance by achieving an energy density of over 800 Wh/L, while also retaining best-in-class cycle life, low-temperature operation, and rate performance. NanoGraf’s composite silicon-graphene G6 anode material is differentiated both through performance (>90% FCE, 1300 mAh/g) and drop-in readiness, which has been demonstrated with dozens of cell manufacturing partners worldwide. In addition, G6 represents a breakthrough in manufacturing and cost since it can be produced in two steps and replaces expensive, complex vapor deposition-based systems with a low-cost, aqueous coating process.
In this talk, we will discuss NanoGraf’s proprietary material architecture consisting of silicon-based alloys and a flexible 3D graphene network that helps stabilize the active material during charge and discharge. This technology solves long-standing technical hurdles surrounding silicon anodes and enables >30% energy density improvements in commercial cylindrical cells. The material is produced at multi-ton scales now, with additional scale-up in the United States to be completed in 2022. Finally, we will discuss how NanoGraf-enabled 18650 cells are being utilized in applications for the US military, where both superior performance and weight reduction are critical to enabling high-functioning members of the armed forces

For the past couple of decades, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been studied intensely as a potential alternative to silicon for a variety of electronic device applications. In the field of memory devices, Nantero has pioneered the concept of a carbon nanotube based non-volatile memory (NRAM®). To develop NRAM® technology at a commercial scale, Nantero has developed processes to integrate carbon nanotubes into production semiconductor foundries. This required overcoming several challenges such as contamination control, fab compatible wafer scale deposition, and engineering controls for consistent manufacturing among others. This presentation will discuss how key challenges were overcome to develop an ultra-high purity CNT based material technology platform for fab use. Some key characteristics of the NRAM® memory device and other potential applications will also be discussed.

2D materials platform has shown enormous market opportunities largely because of its diverse and superb functionalities. Graphene and other 2D materials cover metal-semiconductor-insulator, and can be engineered to meet industrial needs. On the other hand, a number of startups have faced significant challenges to get qualified for commercialization and often failed. Why?! Is a replacement model of existing materials/films/composites not working? Choice of existing market versus emerging market? This talk will discuss potential solutions to overcome these challenges on the basis of my experiences as a former founder of nanomaterials startups and investor. The latest trend in sustainability and its effect on 2D materials venture will be touched as well.

The biggest challenge for carbon nanotubes and graphene commercialization is the production of industrial quantities with reasonable cost and high-volume supply.
Raymor Industries is a Canadian high-tech company using thermal plasma process to produce carbon nanostructures at large scale. Through their subsidiaries, NanoIntegris and Graphene LP, Raymor also specializes in the production of enriched, single-walled carbon nanotubes and graphene dispersions. It has taken iterations between industrial R&D, collaboration with academic researchers and industrial partners for Raymor to offer an affordable and optimized process with proven success in the integration of both carbon structures in different applications including electronics, energy and more.
In this talk, we will present the main products of Raymor-NanoIntegris, the high scale production of carbon nanotubes and graphene by using plasma and some examples of their current applications for battery and electronic technologies.

The unique feature of Sixonia Tech's E-Graphenes is the combination of properties that were previously incompatible for graphenes on large scale: easy processability (without additives) + high quality (conductivity). This is enabled by the technology of electrochemical exfoliation in combination with in situ functionalization. Additionally, such functionalization allows for property profiles and processing properties to be adaptable to the respective target application (e.g. dispersibility without surfactants in a solvent of choice and high electrical conductivity at the same time).
The promising potential of these graphenes has been shown - among others - in conductive coatings towards light-weight heating and sensing textiles and as conductive additives in battery electrodes, which can significantly increase high-power capacity and improved cycling stability.

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Simon and Ben will be introducing some of the opportunities and challenges of implementing 3DCP technology in the construction of buildings and infrastructure, along with some of the emerging benefits of using graphene additives in printing materials.

Energy storage applications have seen increasingly rigorous demand for improved performance. Particularly driven by the increased effort on commercialization of electric vehicles, there is a significant drive to maximize energy density of batteries, while also minimizing the battery cost. In order to meet these technical requirements, the Lithium-ion Battery (LIB) industry has recently devoted a significant effort develop alternative cathode chemistries, including, but not limited to permutations of Nickel Manganese Cobalt and Nickel enhanced spinel materials (e.g., NMC811, LNO, LMNO).

A variety of key technical issues arise for these novel materials, ranging from low conductivity to increased interfacial degradations and structural instability which accelerate under high voltage and elevated temperatures, potentially leading to material instability and thermal runaway.

These challenges present an opportunity for Volexion’s pristine graphene protective encapsulation technology, which concurrently addresses shortfalls in conductivity, interfacial instability and degradation, thereby facilitating direct industrial integration of novel high-performance cathode materials in industrial applications.

Simon and Ben will be introducing some of the opportunities and challenges of implementing 3DCP technology in the construction of buildings and infrastructure, along with some of the emerging benefits of using graphene additives in printing materials.