Composites
Work Package 14
Our Work Package develops high-performance composites using graphene and layered materials that meet the high standards required by industrial sectors such as the aerospace, automotive and energy generation industries. We incorporate graphene and layered materials into various different matrix combinations, from thermoplastics and thermoset composites to elastomers and inorganic composites.
Driven by market demand
Our Work Package is motivated by the demands of the commercial market. We have adopted a value chain strategy to establish synergy between the needs of the end users and the state-of-the-art knowledge developed by our academic partners. This philosophy helps us to achieve our goal of creating more cost-effective products with higher technology readiness levels, for rapid transition from the laboratory to the market.
In particular, we are working on the following market-driven composite technologies:
- Low-cost, quality-controlled masterbatches of polymer pellets enhanced by graphene and layered materials, for widespread use in the plastics industry.
- Fibre and fibreglass-reinforced polymer composites with lower weight, higher thermal and electrical resistance, and improved mechanical strength and stiffness. These materials could reduce fuel consumption, emissions and assembly costs in the aerospace and automotive industries.
- Elastomers with improved flexibility and strength, lower shrinkage, better wear resistance and higher chemical resistance and thermal stability – with applications in the aerospace and automotive industries as well as in sensors, robotics, thermal dissipation, fire protection, water resistance and power distribution.
- Composites containing inorganic components, such as metallic powders, nanoparticles or nanofibers, to improve the efficiency of conductors, create coatings for environmental protection and design new components for additive manufacturing. These materials could improve the thermoelectric properties and lifetime of construction materials and reduce assembly time and cost in all of the above industries
Latest Articles
Graphene composites enable the aviation industry to gain altitude
New functionalities and upholstery materials for the car of the future’s dashboard
Graphene Flagship Partner SPAC Spa is developing new steering wheels and glove boxes with graphene-based materials, as part of the Spearhead Project G+BOARD.
Ceramics and graphene open up new possibilities for bone-like materials
Graphene Flagship Partnering Project CERANEA develops graphene-filled ceramic sandwiches that deliver materials with enhanced properties and functionalities.
Graphene Standardisation workshop sparks discussion
The first workshop in the series “Graphene from the buyer’s perspective – the powers of standardisation,” held on 19 February 2021 and organised by the Graphene Flagship Standardisation team from Work Package Industrialisation, focused on one specific material group: powders, dispersions and composites.
Graphene-based innovations for smart homes
Welcome to the home of the future.
Graphene for foam and coating applications
Based at Technische Universität Dresden, Ali Shaygan Nia is a business developer for graphene-based coatings and composites for environmental applications such as air and water purification and anticorrosion coatings. Shaygan Nia has a PhD in polymer chemistry and more than six years’ experience developing graphene and 2D materials for composites and coatings. He also has experience on graphene-based product development and commercialisation by acting as application engineer at the Graphene Flagship's spin-off Sixonia Tech. Shaygan Nia now offers his thoughts on the current state of graphene in foam and coating applications.
