“Graphene and 2D materials need to escape the labs”

Hi Samuel! It’s been about a week since 2DTECH Day 2023 took place. How would you summarize the day?

“It was fun! Our centre day gave us a good glimpse of the various 2D research activities within our centre, an insight of the vision that some of our participating companies have for 2D materials, and an overview of the 2D material ecosystems in UK, the birthplace of graphene, so to say. We also had the chance to listen to the younger researchers of our centre, and all the progress they make towards their goals. Also important, it gave us the chance to interact face-to-face, something that has been a bit tricky to do in our centre since its beginning in 2020.”

What would you say is the current state for 2DTECH right now in 2023 in terms of focus areas, challenges, and goals?

“We still have a broad research agenda on multifunctional composites, sustainable energy solutions, electronics, and exploring emerging 2D materials. It will continue like this until the end of 2024, but it might change beyond 2025. The scientific productivity so far is excellent, about 55 papers in four years, many of these in high impact journals. Yet, a big challenge for graphene and 2D materials in Sweden and worldwide is to gain traction among larger companies, because many lab demonstrations are still difficult or costly to scale up. Our main goal for the years to come is to tackle this challenge.”

And looking ahead, what is your primary focus?

“We want graphene and 2D materials to escape the lab. Our focus will be to work more closely with companies. For many industrial partners, graphene and 2D materials are now a closer reality, and we hope that our efforts will help them in their existing products, or eventually, to disrupt markets with revolutionary new ones.”

Any parts of 2D tech day 2023 that you believe were particularly appreciated by the invited participants?

“I have received reiterated positive comments in two aspects, the breadth of the research, and the shaping up of graphene and 2D materials supply chains. First, graphene and 2D materials can have impact in many areas, and the audience was surprisingly awake despite that so many topics we presented: antibacterial properties of graphene composites, mass production of graphene-related materials, making flexible electronics possible, quantum metrology, genetically modified plants with graphene oxide, machine-brain interfaces, and even qubits. Second, in projects related to paper coating and antibacterial surfaces with graphene, we got a feeling on how our researchers are contributing to connect end users, that is larger companies, with SMEs and startups. Likewise, now we see a lot of new interactions and collaborations among graphene researchers at Chalmers from different departments. And that is one of the key aspects of a centre like 2DTECH, I think, which provides all the partners - researchers and companies - with a great playground for cross-disciplinary and cross- functional collaborations.”

Thank you, Samuel!