Europe Betting Big on Graphene
2013; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 56; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1930-0166
Autores Tópico(s)Spacecraft Design and Technology
ResumoIn an intensifying global contest, Europe is betting one billion euros on a that many believe could lead to a new industrial revolution. Graphene, discovered in 2004 by two physicists at Manchester University, is already being called the wonder material of the 21st century, as plastics were in the 20th century. Worried about being left behind in what has become a global patent gold rush, the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, has chosen as one of two flagship projects in its Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) competition. (The other is the Human Brain project; see RTM 56.3, pp. 8-10.) Over a 10-year period beginning in 2013, the Commission will directly invest 500 million [euro] ($652 million) into research and development (R&D), with another 500 million [euro] to come from funding agencies in the participating countries. Germany, Finland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom have already signaled support of the project. Graphene, which is composed of carbon, is plentiful and relatively cheap to produce, unlike the rare earth metals it could replace in many high-tech products. The material--lighter than a feather and stronger than steel with a conductivity far superior to copper--could unlock a new era of super high-tech gadgets, like wafer-thin, flexible touchscreens or sturdier lightweight car chassis, scientists believe. Graphene's appeal lies in its concentrated strength, transparency, and conducting ability. A sheet one atom in thickness, for example, is all that is needed to construct the electrical circuitry of computer chips or photovoltaic cells. Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, Russian-born physicists working at Manchester University, earned the 2010 Nobel Prize for their discovery of graphene. However, the has yet to move out of the lab. Scientists have moved from creating only micro-flakes of to producing sheets of it, producing along the way a flood of academic papers--more than 10,000 last year alone--and a growing mountain of patents. British patent consultancy CambridgeIP reports a sharp rise in patents and patent applications filed over different aspects of since 2006, totaling 7,351 worldwide at the end of last year. That, according to the consultancy, is a remarkably high number for a recognized less than a decade ago. China leads the field with 2,204, followed by 1,754 entities in the United States, 1,160 in South Korea, and 54 in the United Kingdom. The company with the most graphene-related patents linked to its name is South Korean electronics giant Samsung, followed by U.S.-based IBM. The growing number of patents--viewed as an essential first step toward turning a profit from an idea still based in the lab--shows how intense global competition has become. Some believe the first graphene-intensive products could emerge as early as 2015. Europe, and in particular the United Kingdom, worry about being left behind in the surge of research the discovery has prompted. While the 27-member European Union is currently leading the race in academia, accounting for 36 percent of the world's publications, it's trailing on the patent front. That's a sore spot: Europe has long struggled with the disparity between its academic output and patenting activity. The FET project is intended to address this gap. Geim views the 1 billion [euro] as a seed fund, which he says will give companies more inducement to become involved with European universities. He claims a strong, long-term collaboration between academia and industry is essential to bring such a disruptive technology as graphene to the market. He also expects a number of start-ups to be spun out of European university labs. …
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