Graphene Week 2019: Graphene Flagship puts a spotlight on commercialisation of graphene and related materials

As one of the largest ever research projects funded by the European Commission — with a budget of €1 billion spread across its first ten-years— the Graphene Flagship's annual conference will present the latest developments in research, innovation, and commercialisation of GRMs.

Graphene Week 2019 will focus on the existing and upcoming industrial products exploiting graphene, with an objective to encourage bright young scientists to commercialise their results into tangible products.

Students, academics and industry representatives will attend Graphene Week 2019 to listen to 30 plenary and invited talks by world leading experts in GRMs, witness over 100 oral presentations and network with over 700 participants from countries around the world.

Featured topics for 2019 include graphene for wearables, 5G communications, energy production and storage technologies, as well as newly developed layered materials and heterostructures. This scientific program will also be complemented by an Innovation Forum and specific workshops and sessions focused on the collaboration between academia and industry.

The conference's focus mirrors the Graphene Flagship's roadmap for GRM's use in industrial applications. Just past the 5 years mark, the Graphene Flagship is fully on course to realize its ambitious objectives to transition the success of graphene research in academic institutions, into commercial devices.

"Graphene Week 2019 will open its doors to collaboration with many leading organisations," explained Sanna Arpiainen, conference chair and senior scientist at Graphene Flagship partner VTT. "They will present opportunities for funding, career developments and insight on research and development in graphene related industries."

"At the conference, attendees will be able to delve deeper into targeted topics in our workshops, including sessions presented in conjunction with the European High-Performance Computing initiatives and a symposium co-organised by the European Space Agency — the Challenges and Solutions in Support of Human Space Exploration."

Graphene Week 2019 will demonstrate even more discoveries, potential applications and impressive research projects from the expansive Graphene Flagship network.

"Graphene Week 2019 is the Graphene Flagship's premier annual conference," explained Jari Kinaret, director of the Graphene Flagship. "It is an occasion where hundreds of academic and industrial researchers come together to exchange ideas and get inspiration from across the entire Flagship. As an international conference, Graphene Week is a place for Graphene Flagship researchers to interact with friends and colleagues from all over the world."

"This year, the conference is held in Helsinki, Finland. We're looking forward to a productive meeting in Helsinki. In fact, this year's conference couldn't have been planned at a more appropriate time, as it coincides with Finland's third EU presidency event." concluded Kinaret.

Andrea C. Ferrari, science and technology officer of the Graphene Flagship and chair of its management panel, adds: "with the advent of Horizon Europe, the Graphene Flagship is planning its future. Graphene Week is the ideal venue not just to see the latest research developments, but to network and generate new ideas and avenues for the ever-increasing family of graphene and related materials."