Graphene Flagship adds 66 partners and doubles in size

Neelie Kroes, pictured, vice president of the European Commission, said: "Europe is leading the graphene revolution. This 'wonder material' has the potential to improve our lives dramatically; it stimulates new medical technologies, such as artificial retinas, and more sustainable transport with light and ultra efficient batteries. The more we can unlock the potential of graphene, the better!" The competitive call attracted 218 proposals, involving 738 organisations from 37 countries. Italy and German now have the highest number of partners, with 23 each, followed by Spain (18), UK (17) and France (13). While most partners are universities and research institutes, the share of companies, mainly SMEs, involved is increasing and more than one third of new partners are companies. Jari Kinaret, pictured, Professor of Physics at Chalmers University of Technology and director of the Graphene Flagship, said: "I am impressed by the high quality of the proposals we received and look forward to working with all the new partners to realise the goals of the Graphene Flagship." Nobel Prize Laureate Professor Konstantin Novoselov, from the University of Manchester, said: It will certainly enhance our understanding of the exciting physics in graphene, other 2D materials and their heterostructures and broaden the range of possible applications. It is also exciting to see several leading high tech companies participating in the research." New UK partners in the Graphene Flagship are University College London, Imperial College London, Amalyst, G24 Power, The University of Nottingham, University of Sheffield, University of London, BAE Systems (Operations) and University of Sunderland.