European Innovators Launch GRAPHERGIA Project to Revolutionize Energy Harvesting in Textiles and Battery Technology
A consortium of 11 partners from six European nations has officially launched the GRAPHERGIA project, an ambitious 3.5-year Research and Innovation endeavour, funded by €4.5 million under the banner of Horizon Europe's Graphene Flagship initiative. Aimed at redefining the integration of energy solutions into everyday life, GRAPHERGIA is set to transform how we use and store energy, marking a significant milestone in the journey towards a climate-neutral future.
At the heart of GRAPHERGIA lies the goal to develop and deploy cutting-edge graphene-based materials into energy harvesting and storage devices. These advances will enable scalable and cost-efficient production of two-dimensional (2D) material technologies for a wide array of applications.
The project kicked off on 2-3 November 2023 with a commitment to pioneering the domain of smart textiles. "We envision a world where your clothing does more than just look good—it powers your devices, acts as a sensor and connects you seamlessly to the Internet of Things (IoT)," says Prof. Spyros Yannopoulos, the project coordinator for GRAPHERGIA. "Imagine e-textiles that not only adapt to your body but also charge themselves. This is the future we are creating."
The second key area of exploration for the GRAPHERGIA project is the development of next-generation electrodes for Li-ion batteries. By leveraging the consortium partners’ proprietary technologies, GRAPHERGIA aims to capitalise on the unique properties of 2D materials to enhance battery life and performance, all while maintaining an environmentally friendly footprint.
"As we move from current technology readiness levels to higher grounds, GRAPHERGIA stands at the forefront of materials engineering. Our collaborative effort aims to bring pilot-scale innovations to the marketplace, setting new benchmarks for the energy sector," adds Prof. Yannopoulos.
The GRAPHERGIA kick-off meeting not only marks the beginning of a transformative journey but also highlights the collective drive towards a greener, smarter and more interconnected world. Stay tuned as we unfold the fabric of the future—one thread of innovation at a time.
The GRAPHERGIA team at their kickoff meeting in Patras, Greece.
Eleven research and industry partners from six European countries
Under the leadership of the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas, GRAPHERGIA brings together an alliance of ten additional European entities from both research and industrial sectors.
The consortium includes Pleione Energy GmbH (Germany); Adamant Composites Ltd. (Greece); Université Gustave Eiffel (France); Born GmbH Knitwear for Fashion and Engineering (Germany); Università degli Studi de Roma La Sapienza (Italy); Comsensus, DOO (Slovenia); Deutsches Zentrum für Luft - Und Raumfahrt EV (Germany); Next Technology Tecnotessile (Itay); AUSTRALO Interinnov Marketing Lab SL (Spain); and Euglottia I.K.E. (Greece).
The GRAPHERGIA initiative, part of the Graphene Flagship, aims to lead the transformation of Europe’s energy future by pioneering graphene applications in next-generation technologies for energy harvesting, conversion and storage.
Author bio
Graphene Flagship
Bringing together 118 academic and industrial partners in 12 research and innovation projects and 1 coordination and support project, the Graphene Flagship initiative will continue to advance Europe’s strategic autonomy in technologies that rely on graphene and other 2D materials. The initiative, which builds on the previous 10-years of the Graphene Flagship, is funded by the European Commission’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme. The 2D-Experimental Pilot Line, addressing the challenges of upscaling 2D material production processes for the semiconductor industry, is another key component of the Graphene Flagship eco-system.