Projects

GPROD – Graphenest e a Expansão da sua Capacidade Produtiva

Project nº: 366 | CENTRO-05-5141-FEDER-000366

Project designation: GPROD – Graphenest e a Expansão da sua Capacidade Produtiva

Support in the scope of investments in the context of community-based local development strategies in line with the System for Entrepreneurship and Employment (SI2E).

Project Synthesis:

Graphenest has conceived an innovative technology which is founded on an exfoliation method of graphite in liquid medium by use of ultrasonic cavitation-assisted by shear force exfoliation.

This technology has been properly tested and validated at laboratory scale by the use of a prototype with a volumetric capacity of 20 L, achieving a discontinuous production capacity of approximately 60 kg/year of graphene and its derivatives. This already proven technology lacked production capacity at a pilot scale. In this sense, Graphenest will fulfill an investment intended to demonstrate the scalability of graphene production technology currently developed and located in a laboratory of the VougaPark Business Host Area.

In this context, the project aims to safeguard Graphenest’s required conditions for the production scale-up while ensuring its operation activity in the Municipality of Sever do Vouga. To achieve this conditions several improvements have to be fulfilled on the 157.OF area which is integrated on the VougaPark Business Host Area. The identified improvements as being imperative are as follows:

• Requalification of the production area which include the necessary structures and construction works, security systems and proper working conditions for the workers according to the current standards;
• Requalification of the warehouse area with all the necessary structures and construction works, security systems and proper working conditions for the workers according to the current standards;
• Requalification of the Office area with all the necessary structures and construction works, security systems and proper working conditions for the workers according to the current standards;
• Requalification of the laboratory area with all the necessary structures and construction works, security systems and proper working conditions for the workers according to the current standards;

Requalification and upgrade of the preinstalled ventilation system with all the necessary structures and construction works in order to support the abovementioned infrastructures.

Total Budget: 83,004.35 €

GNESIS – Graphenest’s New Engineered System and its Implementation Solutions

Project nº: 33566 | POCI-01-0247-FEDER-033566
Project designation: GNESIS – Graphenest’s New Engineered System and its Implementation Solutions

Support in the scope of the SI for Research and Technological Development – Demonstrative Projects in Co-promotion

Project Synthesis

The market awareness to graphene and related materials has been growing steeply, as a result of promising results obtained in an experimental context. However, the application of these materials at an industrial scale has not yet been attained yet due to a number of constraints of the available production technologies, which can be generally resumed as an inability to simultaneously produce graphene in quantity, quality and price, according to the needs of the industrial sector.
Acknowledging this gap between the existing technologies and the industry needs, Graphenest has designed and developed an innovative technology, supported by a graphite exfoliation method in liquid phase using ultrasonic cavitation. Duly tested/validated at a laboratory scale, through the development of a prototype, Graphenest’s technology now needs further demonstration at a pre-industrial scale (and full industrial, at a later stage).
The GNESIS project emerges in this context, aiming at (i) assuring the scale up of Graphenest’s technology into a pre-industrial scale and (ii) demonstrating the application of the graphene-based materials obtained from the referred technology in three different application areas, namely: anti-corrosion paints; polymers with electromagnetic shielding; and tactile screen electrodes.
The GNESIS project will be promoted by a full consortium consisting of two companies with strong R&D skills – i.e., Graphenest (project leader) and Displax – as well as three entities from the Portuguese Research and Innovation System – i.e., the International Laboratory of Iberian Nanotechnology, University of Aveiro and University of Minho. In addition, the project will be attended by three national associated business partners – i.e., Bosch, CIN and Galp Energia – and an international one – the Chinese company Zhejiang Light-Tough Composite Materials.

In this context the produced graphene by Graphenest’s pioneer technology will be demonstrated in the following applications:
• Anticorrosive paints;
• Electromagnetic shielding polymers;
• Touch screens electrodes.

This project is promoted by a complete consortium, constituted by two business entities with robust skills in R&D that position themselves as demonstrated solutions borrowers, being supported both scientifically and technically on distinct research departments/centers of three different SI&I entities.

Total Budget: 1, 633, 967.09 €

GEMIS – Graphene-enhanced Electro-Magnetic interference Shielding

Project nº: POCI-01-0247-FEDER-045939

Project designation: GEMIS – Graphene-enhanced Electro-Magnetic interference Shielding

Project Synthesis

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) is an interesting phenomenon that affects all electronic devices working in an environment surrounded by external sources of radiated signals and electromagnetic radiation, such as antennas and other electronic devices. Within the context of electromagnetic compatibility, EMI is considered a potential and major source of operating problems to electronic devices, as well as a cause of the performance and lifetime reduction, especially in a world where electronic devices are increasingly ubiquitous.

In this context, current shielding materials used to protect electronic devices from EMI, are based on heavy, brittle and expensive metals, while the major EMI applications have a huge demand for flexible, additive, light, and inexpensive materials. This is of crucial importance, for instance, for several vehicles. industries, from hybrid and electrical cars to airplanes, where weight reduction is imperative to increase autonomy and reduce carbon footprint. Graphene and related materials are considered the most promising and effective candidates for effective EMI shielding because of their excellent electrical properties, extremely high specific surface area, and unprecedented strength to weight ratio.

The GEMIS project aims to develop versatile EMI shielding solutions based on graphene materials and technology, as well as to make a significant impact in several applications and sectors that require highly versatile shielding solutions able to comply with various production processes. To achieve this, the project proposes the development of a universal formulation for a liquid dispersion of graphene materials with highly effective EMI shielding, and the consequent production of two EMI shielding composites based on polymers and epoxies. Finally, a custom-made equipment will be designed and fabricated to specifically apply the developed EMI shielding solutions on electric wires to be used in the automotive industry.

Total Budget: 1,171,622.84 €

NEUROSTIMSPINAL – A Step Forward To Spinal Cord Injury Repair Using Innovative Stimulated Nanoengineered Scaffolds

Project nº: H2020-FETOPEN-2018-2020 FETOPEN-01-2018-2019-2020

Project designation: NEUROSTIMSPINAL – A Step Forward To Spinal Cord Injury Repair Using Innovative Stimulated Nanoengineered Scaffolds

Project Synthesis

Spinal cord injury has dramatic lifetime consequences affecting thousands of people worldwide. The project aims at developing a neural tissue engineered scaffold capable of not only combining fibrous and porous topographic cues in order to mimic the morphology of the native spinal cord, but also potentiating the properties of graphene-related materials supported in a protein-rich decellularized matrix.

Project Website: https://www.neurostimspinal.eu/

Total Budget: 3,518,962.50 €