Graphene Flagship Annual Report 2025: Powering Europe’s Next Wave of 2D Innovation

The Graphene Flagship has released its 2025 Annual Report, showcasing a year of major scientific advances, growing industrial momentum and strengthened collaboration across Europe’s 2D materials ecosystem. Bringing together 126 academic and industrial partners across 14 projects, the initiative continues to transform graphene and related materials from laboratory breakthroughs into real-world technologies.

The report highlights how coordinated, long-term investment is delivering tangible impact across key sectors including electronics, photonics, energy, composites and biomedicine. From scalable production methods to increasingly mature device demonstrators, the Graphene Flagship is reinforcing Europe’s position at the forefront of advanced materials innovation.

A central theme of this year’s report is the strength of the ecosystem built over more than a decade. By connecting universities, research institutes, SMEs and large industry players, the Graphene Flagship enables end-to-end innovation—from fundamental materials science to system-level integration and commercial applications. This collaborative model continues to accelerate the translation of research into market-ready solutions while supporting Europe’s strategic autonomy and competitiveness.

Significant progress in 2025 includes advances in the synthesis and processing of graphene and other 2D materials, as well as the development of high-performance devices in sensing, energy storage, electronics and healthcare. The report also underlines the importance of standardisation, with new international specifications helping to ensure quality, interoperability and industrial uptake.

Industrialisation remains a key priority. The initiative has supported a growing number of spin-offs and commercial activities, with companies developing applications ranging from water filtration systems to infrared imaging and brain-monitoring technologies. At the same time, pilot-scale manufacturing efforts are helping bridge the gap between research and large-scale production, enabling more efficient integration of 2D materials into existing value chains.

The Graphene Flagship’s role in shaping Europe’s policy and innovation landscape is also emphasised. In 2025, the community contributed to discussions around the Advanced Materials Act and played an active role in the Innovative Advanced Materials Initiative (IAM-I), helping define future research and investment priorities. These efforts ensure that graphene and related materials remain central to Europe’s green and digital transitions.

Community-building and knowledge sharing continue to underpin the initiative’s success. Events such as Graphene Week 2025 brought together hundreds of researchers, innovators and industry leaders from around the world, fostering collaboration and showcasing the latest breakthroughs. Training, outreach and diversity initiatives are also supporting the next generation of scientists and engineers in the field.

Looking ahead, the report points to a period of both opportunity and transition. As Europe prepares for new research and innovation frameworks, the Graphene Flagship is focused on consolidating its achievements while identifying emerging application areas where 2D materials can deliver added value. The long-term vision is clear: to leave a lasting legacy in the form of a mature, resilient European ecosystem capable of driving future technological innovation.

The 2025 Annual Report demonstrates that the Graphene Flagship is not just advancing materials science—it is building the foundations for Europe’s next wave of industrial and technological leadership.