New research institute to explore the extraordinary potentia

The largest sum of funding awarded in 2013 by the ERDF’s programme for North-West England will allow the University of Manchester to build the world’s leading centre for research into wonder material graphene.

The gap between invention and innovation is narrowing and it may be that we will have to wait rather less than 20-30 years for widespread applications for graphene to emerge. The scale of the resources deployed, and the 5 000 plus patents already filed, point to an active community searching to incorporate this material into applications. "

Ivan Buckley, Project manager

The National Graphene Institute will be the UK’s home for research into the world’s thinnest, strongest and most conductive material, providing the opportunity for researchers and industry to work together on a huge variety of potential applications.

The 7 600 square metre building will house state-of-the-art facilities, including two so-called cleanrooms where scientists can carry out experiments and research without contamination. The European Union’s financial award of GBP 23.5 million (EUR 29.5 million) will contribute to the cost of constructing and fitting out the applied research facility as well as the cost of equipment.

Some of the world’s leading companies are expected to sign up to work at the institute where they will be offered the chance to work on cutting edge projects in the field of graphene research.

Innovative uses for graphene in everyday life

Graphene was isolated for the first time at the University of Manchester in 2004 and has the potential to revolutionise a huge number of applications, from smartphones and ultrafast broadband to drug delivery and computer chips.

Project manager Ivan Buckley said that further research was needed before the true economic impact of graphene was established. “It is early days and with the speed of development of graphene research, it should not be long before we see graphene applications in everyday use,” he said.

Mr Buckley said that other possibilities for graphene use include ultra-fast transistors, foldable computer displays, ultra-sensitive solar cells, better medical imaging and more powerful digital cameras. It is also possible that graphene will eventually replace silicon in computers.

It is hoped that the centre will initially create around 100 jobs, with the long-term expectation of many thousands more in the north-west of England and more widely in the UK.

Total investment and EU funding

Total investment for the project “National Institute for Graphene Research” is EUR 58 991 723 with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 29 495 861 through priority 2 “Exploiting innovation and knowledge” of the “North-West England” Operational Programme for the 2007-2013 programming period.