India’s first graphene innovation centre to come up in Kerala

Mangalore Today News Network

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 25, 2022: India’s first innovation centre for graphene will be set up in Kerala by the Digital University Kerala (DUK), along with Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (C-MET) in Thrissur, for Rs 86.41 crore. This will be the first graphene Research and Development (R&D) incubation centre in the country. Tata Steel Limited is set to be the industrial partner of the centre.

 

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, has given approval for the project. The project, which will be implemented with the support of the Kerala government, is expected to accelerate the state’s growth in the knowledge industry sector.

The chief investigators of the project, who will also lead it are Dr AP James of DUK and Dr A Seema of C-MET. The main collaborators include scientists from the National Graphene Institute, University of Manchester, and other industrial partners from around the world.

“We expect the centre to offer students, researchers, established industries and budding startups to test and experiment new innovative products, and make it a thriving environment for innovative graphene-based product development,” said Saji Gopinath, Vice Chancellor of DUK.

Graphene is known for its extraordinary electrical and electronic properties, and as per latest research, it could replace indium and thereby bring down the cost of OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screens in smartphones. Graphene has good chemical stability, high electrical conductivity and a large surface area while being transparent and lightweight.

The emerging 2D materials will have a wide range of commercial and industrial applications in biomedical, defence, electronics, energy, and sensors in the next decade. The centre will also help develop skilled manpower by anchoring doctoral and masters students through DUK, with applied research focus in the areas of electronics product design, sensors, and energy applications.

Courtesy:The News Minute