The lightest kayak in the World made with HexaBond by Graphenest & Sipre
Graphenest announces the lightest kayak in the World
The lightest* surfski kayak in the World with 5.75 m that weighs just 9.3 kg was achieved by a joint ventures between Graphenest and Sipre.
Today, Graphenest is proud to announce the lightest* surfski kayak in the World weighing just 9.3 kg with all the accessories, born from a joint ventures between Graphenest and Sipre, a Portuguese kayak manufacturer famed for their flatwater, ocean and open water kayaks.
This lightweight surfski kayak was first revealed during Graphenest’s pitch on Techstars Autonomous Technology Acceleration Demo Day event on the 20th of April at Boston, which was attended by 500 people including US Air Force and US Business Angels.
This engineering accomplishment was enabled by substituting the ordinarily used epoxy resin by Graphenest’s HexaBond epoxy resin system for fiber reinforced composites. HexaBond can be applied in any fiber reinforced composites to improve mechanical strength, durability and chemical resistance. Hexabond is able to increase the strength of carbon fiber composites up to 24%, while simultaneously reducing weight by 10%.
HexaBond targets a $7 billion market as an epoxy resin for automotive and high-performance sporting goods. Further achievements and news will be unfolded in the near future.
* To the best of our knowledge
Fotos: by Graphenest
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May 07th, 2018, Written by Rui Silva from Graphenest
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Techstars Autonomous is Unified By Boston’s Quest for Innovation
Techstars Autonomous is Unified By Boston’s Quest for Innovation
In the late ‘90s, the CIA wanted to leverage technology from various tech startups across the country, which resulted in the founding of the venture capital firm In-Q-Tel. The firm invested in companies that would provide software, hardware, and other tech-related properties to the agency.
Fast forward to 2017, and the United States Air Force is currently following a similar model with the Techstars Autonomous Technology Accelerator with the US Air Force. The program, which formed in the fall of last year, is focusing on companies developing drone and counter-drone technology for both military and consumer markets.
“The Air Force had two goals in mind,” said Managing Director Warren Katz. “The first goal was to foster access for startup companies to the Department of Defense market as much as they could, and the second was to retrain themselves on how to buy from startup companies without killing them off or turning them into defense contractors.”
Why choose Techstars and Boston?
Techstars is one of the world’s leading startup accelerators, and out of the Boston location, several now-prominent companies have participated in it. Here are just a few: Localytics, Bevi, PillPack, Placester, Neurala, and EverTrue. Based on the success of some of those companies in the area, not to mention the amount of funding the program has given out since its inception, the Air Force’s decision to create a partnership with Techstars may not come as a surprise.
Katz, who was a mentor at Techstars Boston since its inception in 2009, advised the Air Force to locate this new program in Boston based on several factors: an abundance of engineering talent, an active investment community, and a robust but not-overly-crowded tech sector.
“One choice that obviously came up was Washington DC, but Boston has a much better entrepreneurial ecosystem,” Katz told us. “There was also the possibility of the companies becoming defense contractors if they were too close to the Beltway, and the Air Force wanted to avoid that entirely.”
Since many of the companies are still in their early stages, Techstars Autonomous has taken advantage of several other accelerators and firms such as The Engine, DRAPER, MITRE, and Lincoln Labs. The collaboration between the program and those mentioned reflects Techstars’ goal to create a synergistic environment.
Katz moderated one of the many panels at the MIT Enterprise Forum devoted to autonomous technology.
Meet Warren Katz
Katz is an active member of the Boston tech scene. Most recently, he has been a mentor at Techstars, and MIT Sloan Center for Entrepreneurship, as well as an angel investor in several startups including Neurala and Bevi.
However, he actually got his start working in tech for the defense contractor BBN Technologies (which was later acquired by Raytheon). During this time, he primarily worked as an engineer on large-scale projects for DARPA. He eventually started his own company, MAK Technologies, that also worked as a defense contractor and vendor of commercial simulation software products.
It was during this time that he learned of the difficulties startups and commercial product companies suffered working with the Department of Defense. Large defense contractors were usually paid by the hour to develop systems, therefore buying a commercial item from a startup company for a much lower price would actually cost the defense contractor revenue and profits. Startups would be killed off as they could never sell the better-faster-cheaper product into large programs. From 1990 to 2006, Katz attempted to reverse these perverse incentive structures through various acquisition reform efforts, in order to help startups that actually made the better mousetrap.
While on a short-term engagement helping scale operations at Neurala, Katz was informed by Techstars that the US Air Force reached out to explore forming an accelerator focused on autonomous technologies and wished to explore mechanisms for purchasing products from startups more intelligently.
After experiencing the problem first-hand earlier in his career, Katz felt a personal incentive to help out Techstars and join the program as Managing Director.
“I helped Techstars negotiate the deal with the Air Force, and then, it was back to my acquisition reform problem that I was trying to solve in the mid-90s.”
The ten companies in the program
When Techstars announced the program, Katz and the accelerator spent an excessive amount of time actively recruiting companies to the program. The companies were asked to provide technology for the counter-drone market, but there was a specific request from Techstars: there was to be no competition between the companies in the program.
“We had a couple hundred applicants,” Katz said. “Every company was bringing something to the table. The real challenge was whittling the list down to ten companies.”
One of the two supply chain startups in the program, 14bis is utilizing the blockchain for tracking aerospace parts. The company has created an API to interface between disparate ERP systems and archive and track parts that are sold and traded between suppliers and customers, reducing inventory levels and protecting against the introduction of counterfeit parts.
Notch was founded by two MIT PhDs. The company is creating an anti-jamming antenna for GPS, wifi, phone, and drones undergoing stealth missions. The antenna is like a mirror that can both reflect jamming beams and focus transmissions to boost range and reduce power consumption.
Graphenest is the only international company (they are based in Portugal) in the cohort. The company has created a low-cost manufacturing technique for graphene which is used in reducing weight and increasing strength of epoxy for composite materials, electromagnetic shielding coatings, oxygen barriers for food packaging, and strengthening plastics.
Since it seems like Amazon might be looking towards a drone delivery future, Robodub is a startup that they might want to pay attention to. Robodub is developing what Katz described as a, “morphing drone,” with rotors that can shift position and orientation to adapt to imbalanced, changing, or unpredictable loads.
SecureMarking is the other supply chain company, with the primary focus is on invisible ink for marking of parts for aerospace and drone manufacturers. Through the blockchain, manufacturers can encode the undetectable serial number for that specific part.
SICDrone’s product is another drone with a specific action in mind: speed. The company’s drone has six rotors instead of the standard four; four of them point up, and the other two are pointed horizontally. While currently in the testing stage, the drone is projected to go upwards of 100 mph. It’s also designed for “precision stationkeeping”, the ability to stand motionless in high winds better than any other drone, for aerial photography applications.
URSA is an Exeter, New Hampshire company that is creating a secure data analytics platform for drones. URSA’s platform utilizes machine learning and can display information on how a drone is performing, as well as whether or not is functioning correctly. Their first market is software to manage drone flight test ranges.
MassChallenge alumni Guardion is further developing their radiation detection shield for cities and nuclear power plants. One aspect of their technology they are adding to their repertoire is the detection of radiation on hospital patients who have gone through an x-ray.
Blind Tiger has an intriguing name, and what they do is equally so; they have created a communications management platform to detect cell phone and drone control traffic. One area they are looking to target is prison systems where incarcerated criminals are smuggling phones into their cells and ordering deliveries of contraband via drone.
OmniPresence’s all-purpose radar system is one that can be used not only for drones, but both ground robots and self-driving cars as well. While the radar is ideal for military and industrial use, OmniPresence also wants to sell their system to drone and robotics hobbyists.
The confidence of Techstars Autonomous
The extensive collaboration between the US Air Force, Techstars, the companies participating in the program, and the various partnerships fulfills one of the main goals the program was looking to accomplish.
“You can see how this one category [drones] branched out into this plethora of companies that are involved in that industry. The Air Force did a great job of keeping that funnel nice and wide,” Katz said. “We’re expecting more applicants for next year’s cohort.”
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De Sever do Vouga para os EUA: Graphenest participa em programa de aceleração
De Sever do Vouga para os EUA: Graphenest-Advanced Nanotechnology participa em programa de aceleração
O programa de aceleração da TechStars que decorre em Boston (EUA), até o dia 23 de abril, é bastante restrito, e selecionou a Graphenest entre milhares de candidaturas.
A Graphenest-Advanced Nanotechnology, startup sedeada no VougaPark-Centro de Inovação que desenvolve tecnologias inovadoras baseadas no grafeno, é a única estrangeira presente no programa de aceleração da TechStars, o qual conta com a parceria da US Air Force.
O programa de aceleração da TechStars que decorre em Boston (EUA), até o dia 23 de abril, é bastante restrito, e selecionou a Graphenest entre milhares de candidaturas.
Com a participação desde sempre condicionada à possibilidade das forças aéreas americanas fazerem uso das aplicações desenvolvidas pela equipa, a Graphenest tem estado em contacto com oficiais militares do Departamento de Defesa, investidores, empresários, ex-participantes da Techstars e outros interessados em grafeno, como investigadores do MIT, desde janeiro.
Sobre esta participação, Bruno Figueiredo, co-fundador da Graphenest, afirma que se trata de um “passo muito importante porque demonstra, uma vez mais, a importância que a empresa desempenha no desenvolvimento de tecnologias inovadoras baseadas em grafeno, reforçando, e muito, a sua posição como representante de Portugal naquilo que melhor se faz no país”. O diretor científico da Graphenest espera que, através dos contactos que têm sido feitos, “a relevância da empresa na rede científica e empresarial seja consolidada”.
Criada em 2015, após um investimento da Portugal Ventures, a sede das operações da Graphenest-Advanced Nanotechnology é em Sever do Vouga, mais precisamente no VougaPark-Centro de Inovação, que tem acompanhado a empresa desde o primeiro momento. Os seus fundadores são: Bruno Figueiredo, diretor científico e doutorado em Engenharia Química, Rui Silva, diretor técnico, mestrado em Engenharia Química, e Vítor Abrantes, administrador e licenciado em Tecnologia e Design do Produto.
Cover image from Unsplash
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February 26th, 2018, Originally Written by Sónia Bexiga
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Graphenest Announces New Website Launch
Graphenest Announces New Website Launch
After two months of hard work and dedication, we are delighted to officially announce the launch of Graphenest’s brand new website at www.graphenest.com.
Our goal with this new website is to provide our visitors an easier way to learn about Graphenest’s solutions, products, current technologies and applications, allowing them to know how to build the next graphene-based generation of products.
Graphenest is the leading provider of graphene-based industrial solutions. It aims to drive the future with graphene, an extraordinary nanomaterial, through a fast, highly cost-effective, and environmentally friendly proprietary method, unlocking previous cost-prohibitive applications for automotive, aerospace, defense and packaging markets, such as electromagnetic shielding coatings, anticorrosive coatings, gas barrier films, and reinforced polymers/composites.
Graphenest new website will be updated on a regular basis with news of product launches, business activity, corporate milestones, events, and media info. Sign up for news at https://graphenest.com/contact/ and check FAQ’s at https://graphenest.com/support/.
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These 10 companies are building ‘counter-drone’ tech in the Air Force accelerator
These 10 companies are building ‘counter-drone’ tech in the Air Force accelerator
As drones become more widely used, both in the public and private sectors, we’ll need increasingly sophisticated supporting technologies to keep the systems safe and secure.
With the help of Powered by TechStars, the component of the Boston-based accelerator that runs bespoke programs, the Air Force has welcomed 10 companies in to a three-month-long accelerator program specifically for what it calls counter-drone technologies. The cohort kicked off on Jan. 22.
In an interview with FedScoop in November Capt. Steven D. Lauver, cofounder of the accelerator idea, said the Air Force was taking a broad view of “counter-drone” — companies working on any number of different ideas from tracking tech to sensor tech and beyond could end up in the group. The Air Force did have some criteria in mind, however, like dual utility in the private sector and government, technical viability and operational interest, Lauver said.
According to a slide deck introducing the participant companies, now almost one month in the program, the technologies represented really do run the gamut.
Graphenest, for example, is a Portugal-based nanotech company producing graphene nanoplatelets for protecting coatings, printed electronics (with graphene-based conductive inks) and more. URSA, meanwhile, does forensic research on data from unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and SICdrone has built a faster and more maneuverable drone. There’s also a wireless security company, a radar that helps drones avoid collision and an aerospace parts supply chain trackingcompany.
All of the companies have relocated to Boston for the duration of the accelerator program — demo day is scheduled for April 19.
The Air Force does not invest in the companies directly, but according to this report, the TechStars venture fund has committed $20,000 to each company in exchange for a 6 percent stake.
As FedScoop has previously reported, this accelerator initially grew out of a school project Lauver and his classmates undertook at Squadron Officer School in 2016. To Lauver, the fact that his idea got this far is rare, and a testament to a new way of thinking within the federal government.
“We’re at a place now where the government is thinking differently,” he told FedScoop. “There’s willingness all across the force to better engage with entrepreneurial communities, with nontraditional contractors and to do things differently.”
Foto: via Fedscoope
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February 19th, 2018, Originally Written by Tajha Chappellet-Lanier
Fedscoop through the Web page of Fedscoop
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Portuguese Investigation Reinforce Investment in Strategic Areas of Science
Investigação Portuguesa Reforça Investimento em áreas estratégicas da ciência.
O programa UT Austin Portugal é hoje renovado por mais dez anos. A assinatura do contrato com o Governo Português ocorreu hoje, nas instalações do CEIIA. A aposta estratégica consiste na colaboração internacional em tecnologias emergentes e no reforço da rede de empreendedorismo tecnológico UTEN.
A investigação colaborativa vai centrar-se em quatro temas bandeira: a abordagem integrada das áreas do Atlantic International Research (AIR) Center, que são espaço, clima, terra e oceanos, a computação avançada, a nanotecnologia e a física médica. Portugal vai continuar a apostar no impacto da transformação de ciência em tecnologias de grande valor internacional continuando a colaboração com a rede UTEN (University Technology Enterprise Network).
O reforço na computação avançada, que faz parte do programa UT Austin | Portugal desde o início, visa capacitar Portugal de todos os recursos necessários à modelação digital e à ciência de dados com vista a alavancar a investigação espacial e de observação da Terra e com isso explorar os ativos mais valiosos do país, nomeadamente nas áreas do novo AIR Center.
Na área da física médica a aposta é na colaboração com o MD Anderson Cancer Center com vista a capacitação e treino em tecnologia nuclear de protões de alta energia com vista a terapias oncológicas promissoras. No que respeita à nanotecnologia, estabelece-se uma nova agenda de investigação e inovação que visa uma abordagem integrada para o desenvolvimento de materiais novos e complexos para novos mercados.
São dez as empresas que vão também apoiar e colaborar com o programa UT Austin Portugal: Abyssal, Deimos Engenharia, Edisoft – Empresa de serviços e desenvolvimento de software, Graphenest, Companhia IBM Portuguesa, Omnidea, Petsys Electronics – Medica Pet Detectors, Tekever e Wavecom Soluções Rádio.
A direcção do programa, em Portugal, vai ficar a cargo de José Manuel Mendonça, presidente do Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores, Tecnologia e Ciência (INESC TEC) e docente da FEUP, e, nos EUA, de John Ekerdt, Reitor Associado de Investigação em Engenharia na Universidade do Texas em Austin.
Existente há dez anos com o Governo português, a parceria internacional UT Austin| Portugal, envolveu mais de 300 estudantes de pós-graduação, mais de 100 investigadores pertencentes a cerca de 50 universidades e instituições de investigação e 13 empresas afiliadas. Os programas doutorais estabelecidos em Digital Media, Computação Avançada e Matemática Aplicada, graduaram mais de 50 novos Doutores em Portugal. A iniciativa UTEN gerou um impacto económico directo superior a 318 milhões de euros, dos quais 72 milhões de euros em capital de risco atraído por empresas nacionais nos EUA e 133 milhões de euros de tecnologia exportada.
Durante o dia de amanhã, 16 de fevereiro, vai decorrer na UPTEC um workshop promovido pelo programa UT Austin|Portugal. A recepção tem lugar às 10h30 e vai ser feita por Rui Oliveira, administrador do INESC TEC e docente na Universidade do Minho, e Marco Bravo, diretor executivo do programa UT Austin Portugal.
O primeiro workshop começa às 11h00 e vai focar-se na computação avançada, o segundo tem início às 13h00 com o tema da nanotecnologia e o último, com hora marcada para as 14h00, vai tratar do tema investigação espacial e de observação terrestre. A sessão de encerramento vai ser feita por John Ekerdt, às 16h00.
Foto: via Pexels
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February 15th, 2018, Green Savers through the Web page of Sapo
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Techstars, Air Force Reveal First Boston Accelerator Investments
Techstars, Air Force Reveal First Boston Accelerator Investments
The saga continues: Graphenest is on the move.
“They want to get access to the most state-of-the-art technology coming out of startup companies in this new, hot area” Katz says of the Air Force. Katz is the program’s managing director of the accelerator being runned by Techstars in partnership with the U.S. Air Force.
Graphenest is attending the acelleration program powered by Techstars Autonomous Technology Accelerator with the U.S. Air Force.
[Updated 2/1/18, 9:52 am. See below.] Techstars today announced the companies participating in the inaugural session of its new autonomous technology startup accelerator program in Boston, and, as advertised, there are a lot of drones involved.
Six of the 10 participating companies are focused on unmanned aerial vehicles, including businesses focused on designing and making drones, helping them avoid collisions, securing and boosting their communications capabilities, and tracking their activities. And one of the companies makes graphene, a material that can be used in the production of a drone’s hull, says Warren Katz, the program’s managing director.
“I had a fantasy of having some ‘super drone’ created out of my whole class, where every company would have [contributed] a little piece of it,” Katz says. “There’s still a chance of that happening.”
The accelerator is run by Techstars in partnership with the U.S. Air Force, hence the emphasis on drone tech.
“They want to get access to the most state-of-the-art technology coming out of startup companies in this new, hot area,” Katz says of the Air Force.
The other participants in the program’s inaugural group include two supply chain companies and a radiation monitoring startup.
Katz’s group is the second Techstars accelerator program in Boston. The other, launched here in 2009, supports a wider variety of tech startups, primarily focused on software. (Techstars Boston, led by new managing director Clément Cazalot, also announced its latest group of investments Thursday, as did the rest of Techstars’ programs.) [Added info about latest Techstars Boston session—Eds.]
Techstars opened its flagship program in Boulder, CO, in 2006, and has since formed accelerator outfits around the globe, some focused on specific industries and technologies, and others run in partnership with other companies and organizations. Its first defense-focused accelerator is located in Australia and is a collaboration with Boeing and other private defense contractors.
The main goal with the new Boston accelerator is to help companies deliver products and services that generate demand from private-sector customers, but are also of interest to the U.S. Department of Defense, Katz says.
“The idea there is that the company doesn’t become dependent on the DoD for their livelihood,” he says.
The Air Force isn’t making equity investments in the companies participating in the Boston program, but it’s providing an undisclosed amount of funding to cover the accelerator’s operational expenses. Techstars’ venture fund will invest $20,000 in each company in exchange for a 6 percent stake, plus $100,000 in convertible debt financing. Companies will also receive mentorship and access to local office space and other resources over the next three months. The session culminates with a demo event in April.
The participating companies hail from nearly every region of the U.S., with one based overseas (Portugal). Two of the 10 companies are led by women, four of them have at least one woman on the founding team, and half of them have at least one person of color on the founding team, Katz says. He says he’s happy with the group’s diversity. That’s something Techstars has said it’s trying to improve across its programs, amid a woeful lack of diversity in the broader tech and venture capital industries.
Without further ado, here are more details on the 10 companies:
14bis Supply Tracking, Houston: This company aims to help supply chain managers in the aerospace and defense industries track parts and root out unapproved ones using blockchain technology.
Blind Tiger Communications, Atlanta: The company is developing wireless security and analytics software to help customers defend against cyber attacks deployed by mobile phones or drones located nearby. Its target clients include government agencies, hospitals, and correctional facilities.
Graphenest, Paradela do Vouga, Portugal: This nanotechnology startup produces graphene for customers in industries such as consumer electronics, energy, and composite materials.
Guardion, Boston: The company is developing sensors for monitoring radiation levels in cities.
Notch Technologies, Cambridge, MA: This company is developing tech for boosting the communications capabilities of drones and guarding against attempts to jam their radio-frequency signals.
OmniPreSense, San Jose, CA: This company is developing radar technology to help drones avoid collisions.
Robodub, Seattle: This company is developing drones intended to be more reliable and agile than conventional drones, with rotors that adjust their position to compensate for a lopsided load, for example.
SecureMarking, Rapid City, SD: The company aims to root out counterfeit parts in the aviation industry. SecureMarking makes a nanoparticle-based “ink” for labeling parts, which can only be illuminated with an infrared laser, the company says. The part is then tracked by a system of connected devices and blockchain-based software.
SICdrone, Portland, OR: This company is developing drones capable of flying at fast speeds, over longer distances, and in more difficult conditions than typical drones.
URSA Secure, Exeter, NH: This company uses machine learning and other methods to collect and analyze data about drone usage that could support investigations by law enforcement, insurance companies, intelligence agencies, and other clients.
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Forbes | "The New Black Gold"
O novo ouro negro
Passaram 13 anos da descoberta do grafeno e só a União Europeia investiu mil milhões de euros para investigar este material. A Graphenest colocou Portugal no mapa da inovação.
A descoberta do grafeno, em 2004, renderia a Andre Geim e Konstantin Novoselov o prémio Nobel da Física apenas seis anos depois. E volvidos três anos, em 2013, a União Europeia lançaria a maior iniciativa de investigação científica mundial: mil milhões de euros de orçamento para que um consórcio de investigadores académicos e industriais (como a Fiat, a Sanofi Aventis ou a IBM) tirem o grafeno dos laboratórios e o façam ajudar a economia a crescer através de novos empregos e oportunidades. Há quem acredite que a partir da próxima década este material estará a render milhares de milhões de euros ao ano.
Tal como os investigadores da Universidade de Manchester, também o engenheiro mecânico Vítor Abrantes chegou ao grafeno pelo acaso: certo dia de 2013, ao passar os olhos pelas notícias no Facebook, leu sobre uma bateria de telemóvel com grafeno, que recarregava em poucos minutos.
A notícia foi a epifania para o projecto que viria a redundar na Graphenest, empresa portuguesa pertencente ao tal consórcio da União Europeia, o “The Graphene Flagship”. Com a mão científica de Bruno Figueiredo – considerado pela FORBES um dos nomes sub-30 a seguir na ciência mundial –, e a acuidade técnica de Rui Silva, ambos engenheiros químicos, Vítor deu vida a um método de sintetização de grafeno que é o cerne desta empresa sediada em Paradela do Vouga.
Uma história a conhecer na edição de Fevereiro, já nas bancas.
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AdMaCom 2017
AdMaCom 2017
This is the class of 2017 of the Advanced Materials Competition #admacom occurring in #Berlin. ADMACOM is a real international acceleration program for companies.
Graphenest is here to improve and get the most it can from Germany but at the end it is representing Portugal. Unfortunately, seems that our own country does not care to much about it.
And please remember, Graphenest is shaping the industry by bringing #graphene to the global market.
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Associated Member of Europe's Bigger ever Research Initiative
Associated Member of Europe’s Bigger ever Research Initiative
Fresh excelent news:
Today, Graphenest becomes an associated member of Europe’s biggest ever research initiative: The Graphene Flagship. #grapheneflagship
For you that do not understand the importance of this achievement, now Portugal has three participants: Universidade do Minho, by Dr. Nuno Peres team, as partner, and Graphenest and Glexys, as associated members.
Graphenest would like to thank everyone involved on this process, specially Dr. Nuno Peres and Dr. Mar Garcia Hernandez for their support.
Graphenest is a graphene-based solutions supplier, supporting the operations on its innovative method for large production of high quality graphene related materials (GRM) which gives it the ability to produce and commercialize with higher yield at a lower production cost (WO 2017025926 A1). Right now it is focused on the formulation of functional coatings for advanced and industry-relevant applications.