Graphene Flagship to showcase innovations at Enlit Europe
Graphene, with its high surface area, large electrical conductivity, light weight nature, chemical stability, and high mechanical flexibility, has a key role to play in Europe’s energy transition and progress towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
The Graphene Flagship will highlight its latest innovations in the field of energy at Enlit Europe in Frankfurt, Germany, a constantly growing, inclusive and end-to-end forum that brings together over 15 000 attendees, 700 exhibitors and 500 speakers from every corner of the energy sector. Between 29 November and 1 December 2022, leading stakeholders from industry, science and government will meet to discuss today’s challenges, as well as tomorrow’s opportunities.
Since its inception in 2013, the Graphene Flagship has invested in energy harvesting, conversion and storage. Among other initiatives, their industry-led spearhead projects have led to the development of a graphene-enabled solar farm and novel lithium-ion batteries.
At Enlit Europe, the Graphene Flagship will exhibit innovations from its Spearhead Projects, industry-led initiatives working to move materials from research labs towards commercial applications. Among these initiatives are:
- CircuitBreakers, led by ABB and developing first-of-their-kind grease-free, maintenance-free, low-voltage circuit breakers for fault protection in key parts of the electrical grid;
- GRAPES, led by Enel Green Power and working on combining silicon solar cells with perovskite solar cells, paving the way for low-cost, highly efficient photovoltaic energy, surpassing the limits of silicon based cells.
- The Graphene Flagship will also exhibit innovations from its international partners, including TU Dresden, BeDimensional and Graphene-XT:
- Supercapacitors: Due to its high ionic and thermal conductivity, graphene allows for more thermally stable supercapacitor electrodes, that also can be charged and discharged faster, alongside contributing to higher energy density of the final devices.
- Graphene composite materials allowing for fuel savings when integrated into plane and automotive construction.
- GXT-Lubeby Graphene-XT which can reduce friction, heat and wear between mechanical components. Graphene could replace toxic and hazardous components in traditional oils and can resist severe temperature and pressure conditions.
Piero Gamarra, the Graphene Flagship business developer for energy generation and storage, noted that Enlit Europe helps to publicise energy challenges and solutions. “Enlit Europe offers a live platform where projects can introduce themselves to industry. For these projects to succeed, through widespread uptake or further investment leading to new breakthroughs, these projects need to be shared with a wide range of stakeholders, including decisionmakers and industrial leaders. Enlit Europe is a great vehicle for this exchange.”
Patrik Johansson, vice director of the Graphene Flagship, emphasised the value of Enlit Europe given the magnitude of challenges facing the energy sector: “In a time of energy insecurity, and against the ongoing backdrop of climate change, Europe cannot step away from challenges such as those related to energy supply, reliability and sustainability. The EU Commission’s Green Deal introduced a big challenge for all European Countries, and to succeed and cut emissions by 55% by 2030, we need to act. We need to invest in the correct people and projects that can help us achieve our goals – and Enlit Europe is an event and network that makes these investments happen.”
Caption: Alexander Johannesson from Circuitbreaker (photo: Graphene Flagship)