Graphene, an atomically-thin, two-dimensional layer of carbon, has been touted as a miracle material: in addition to being incredibly strong, light and flexible, it can act as a flexible semiconductor. As a result, it has been a major focus of scientific research and popular interest. Over the next decade, the European Union plans to fund more than €1 billion of research into graphene, and the raw material market for graphene is expected to exceed $390 million by 2024. Sales of products containing graphene are expected to top $1.3 billion over the same interval.
Yet, in 2013, all suppliers of graphene were small, privately-held companies. Difficulties in producing high purity samples of graphene have created a situation where graphene remains remarkably underutilized in industry. While companies like Apple, Samsung, Nokia, and IBM have made significant investments in applied graphene research, the vast majority of companies have yet to investigate ways in which graphene could impact their business.
While research and development programs are expensive, the cost of inaction can be staggering. Graphene is predicted to be as influential and disruptive as the microprocessor. Companies like Blockbuster, Commodore, Polaroid, and Borders serve as stark examples of how a failure to innovate and adopt new technology can cause a thriving business to wither, and ultimately collapse. Graphene’s fascinating material properties will quickly usher in an era of strong, lightweight, flexible devices that will quickly make today’s cutting-edge devices into obsolete relics of a former age.
If you know you need to investigate graphene, but aren’t sure where to start, this report will quickly bring you up to speed and enable you make actionable, intelligent decisions that will leverage graphene as effectively as possible in your business.
