Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre signs sixth Tier 1 partner

Gerdau, has become the latest company to sign a partnership with the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC).

The Brazil based steel company, is one of the largest suppliers of steel in the world and will be the sixth Tier 1 member.

The new collaboration will see a portfolio of projects, based across Graphene@Manchester’s facilities with projects based in the GEIC and the National Graphene Institute, focusing on anti-corrosion coatings, composites for the automotive industry, membranes and energy storage devices.

Tier 1 partnership benefits include access to world-leading expertise and experience along with specialist equipment within the GEIC to aid projects, which will accelerate product and process development and market entry.

The GEIC, which officially opened in December 2018, is only in its first six months of operation but has already signed five other Tier 1 members and several Affiliate partners.

The GEIC specialises in the rapid scale up and development and graphene and 2D materials applications. The industry-led innovation centre, is designed to work in collaboration with industry partners to create, test and optimise new concepts for delivery to market, along with the processes required for scale up and supply chain integration.

It will fill a critical gap in the graphene and 2D materials ecosystem by providing facilities which focus on pilot production, characterisation, together with application development in composites, energy, solution formulations and coatings, electronics and membranes.

James Baker, CEO Graphene@Manchester said: “Graphene@Manchester has over 350 people working on graphene across an unparalleled breadth of research disciplines, along with two world-leading centres for graphene and 2D materials research.

Having this infrastructure in place, makes The University of Manchester an ideal location for companies like Gerdau to develop graphene technology, no matter what stage of development.”

Gerdau CEO Gustavo Werneck said: “The partnership with the GEIC is another example of the important work that we have been developing at Gerdau’s bureau of innovation in advanced materials (NIMA, in Portuguese). Our presence in Manchester is designed to prospecting new businesses, conduct research and offer innovative solutions to our customers.”

Together the GEIC and the NGI will create a critical mass of scientists, manufacturers, engineers, innovators and industrialists in Manchester to accelerate products to market. Creating an innovation ecosystem that will be able to take a graphene application from basic research to finished product, known as Graphene City.

Advanced materials is one of The University of Manchester’s research beacons - examples of pioneering discoveries, interdisciplinary collaboration and cross-sector partnerships that are tackling some of the biggest questions facing the planet. #ResearchBeacons