Looking at first year assessment

In accordance with the roadmap of FET Flagship projects, the European Commission released on 11 March its first review of the Graphene Flagship. The aim of the review was to assess the work of the Flagship in its first year of activities (1 October 2013 to 30 September 2014), covering the scientific and technological progress of the project, as well as health and safety aspects of the consortium’s coordination and management.

The overall conclusion is that the Flagship has made good scientific and technological progress in accordance with its objectives. The review also confirms that the Flagship helps in particular to foster strategic discussions on innovation opportunities for Europe, work on standards, health and safety aspects, and strong links with industry.

The report is the centrepiece around which the implementation of the remaining months of the Ramp-Up Phase of the project will revolve, until March 2016 when the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) ends.

The main conclusions and recommendations are available online (published 11 March 2015).

Entering Horizon 2020

The European Commission will conclude this month a Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA) with the Flagship core consortium, which will unlock the funding for the entire Horizon 2020 Programme. The objective is to establish a stable and structured partnership between the European Commission and the Graphene Flagship that commit to establish, maintain, and implement the strategic research roadmap of the flagship. This will create a unique partnership, and yet another step in the process of moving graphene from academic laboratories to society.

Read the Flagship consortium’s European roadmap for graphene science and technology