Graphene Flagship hosts Innovation Workshop Electronics event

On Thursday 12 November 2020, in collaboration with the Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE) and our newest Partnering Project, SIO Grafen, the Graphene Flagship hosted the Innovation Workshop Electronicsonline event.

Held on the Graphene Hub – our new hotspot for online networking and events – Innovation Workshop Electronics aimed to foster new collaborations in the field of electronics enabled by graphene and layered materials. Now, we are delighted to report that the event was well-received and enjoyed by many who attended.

Graphene Hub aims to provide digital alternatives to real-life conferencing that still offer all the same opportunities to network and connect with people as you would in-person.

The day kicked off with welcome talks from Kari Hjelt, Head of Innovation at the Graphene Flagship, Björn Samel, Vice President of RISE ICT Acreo, and Elisabeth Sagström, Director of SIO Grafen. Sagström introduced SIO Grafen as the latest Partnering Project to join the Graphene Flagship consortium. She emphasised that their exciting initiative is "not a research programme, but an innovation programme" – a mission to develop new value chains, strengthen collaboration and stimulate graphene production in Sweden.

Then, Thomas Schmaltz from the Graphene Flagship's Industrialisation Work Package put our Technology and Innovation Roadmap in the spotlight: the Graphene Flagship's endeavour to accelerate the commercial uptake of graphene and layered materials. With the help of the Roadmap, Schmaltz predicted a bright future for graphene in the field of electronics.

In the middle of the afternoon, the delegates relished in conversation inside the Graphene Hub meeting hall over tea, coffee and sweet treats, provided by the Graphene Flagship and SIO Grafen – in-keeping with the Swedish tradition of 'fika.' This was a great opportunity for the attendees to make connections, exchange business cards and get to know each other, in a way that was welcomely familiar to the networking opportunities normally offered at our regular in-person meetings.

The second half of the event commenced with Thurid Gspann, Graphene Flagship partner at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany, who spoke about standardisation: a critical issue often overlooked by industry and academia alike. Gspann explained that the lack of established standards slows down innovation and confuses customers, and the Graphene Flagship Standardisation Committee are working to tackle the problem.

Three scientists from emerging fields in the electronics sector then took to the stage to showcase their projects. First off, Stephan Pindl from Graphene Flagship partner Infineon Technologies spoke about graphene's potential for manifold semiconductors. Later, Samuel Lara-Avila from Graphensic, Associate Member of the Graphene Flagship, explained how they use epitaxial graphene to make Hall effect sensors, useful in switches for computers and braking systems. Finally, Linda Höglund revealed IRnova's efforts to use graphene to develop high performance infra-red detectors that can visualise pollution, oil spills and more.

Afterwards, the delegates sat down, hot drink in-hand, in our pitch hall: a space to check out inspiring videos showcasing the latest research in graphene industry from other scientists at the event. This led perfectly into our group discussions, where the attendees splintered off into meeting rooms to share ideas, discuss challenges and establish new partnerships. As the day drew to an end, the delegates gathered for a fun, quick-fire 'speed networking' session, and Kari Hjelt, Head of Innovation at the Graphene Flagship, closed the event.

We are delighted to see that our online events are encouraging more people to connect online in the world of graphene and layered materials than ever before – and we look forward to continuing this trend into the future. After all, innovation and collaboration are the very heart of the Graphene Flagship.

Our next online event will be Graphene for Healthcare on 26 November 2020.