Robert Quarshie, head of materials at the KTN and author of the report ‘Creating Value from Non-carbon 2D Materials – Beyond Graphene’ said the UK is ‘well positioned’ to take a significant share of this market but needs to maximise its opportunities.
The report warns that barriers to commercialisation are considerable, including a lack of skills and relevant funding, poor engagement with potential end users and customers and a misaligned supply chain. But it contends the UK is in a position to maximise opportunities in applications as diverse as wearable technology, energy storage and medical devices.
“The UK industry needs to be open about their trends and drivers and as such need to work a lot more closely with researchers in developing technology roadmaps,” Quarshie suggests. “Our report calls on the creation of an Industry Challenge to accelerate the development of the supply chain; funding over an extended period for centres of excellence to scale up production and support for scaled demonstrators to show just what graphene is capable of doing.”
