Graphene and Carbon Nanotubes

Thermal Interface Materials (TIMs) come in different forms and thermal conductivities. Typical TIM forms include gap pads, thermal greases, thermally conductive adhesives (TCA), and phase change materials.

Thermal Interface Material (TIM) plays an important role in power electronics, computing processors, sensors, and energy storage devices. TIMs are the materials used to fill the void between heat sources and heat sinks to enhance heat transfer.

Using graphene to improve the performance of energy storage devices has been a key focus ever since the 2D material was isolated. As soon as the first commercial graphene manufacturers were established, there has been a steady stream of announcements related to batteries, but perhaps none are as significant as the 2023 news of Evonik entering the field with their investment in SuperC.

Is this the year of rapid graphene sales? Are we slipping deeper into a disillusionment phase? Who will emerge as the market leaders? Is consolidation inevitable? 2023 will be a telling year for the industry.

The true description of graphene is that of a single atomic layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal array. However, the nanocarbon material landscape is much more complicated than this simple statement, with single-layer, few-layer, multi-layer, graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) and both graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) all to be considered as types of graphene.

Is Graphene Green? This question comes up an increasing amount. Green drivers and ESG investments are an obvious focus across the supply chain, but where does graphene fit into this discussion? IDTechEx explore the answer in this article.

As of mid-2022, the global graphene and graphene oxide installed capacity easily exceeds 12,000 tonnes per year, but utilization is low as the orders lag significantly behind. Is this a natural part of the commercial journey, or has hype overcome reality? Is this a case of "build it, they will come", or are there real market needs? What does the future hold for these graphene manufacturers? IDTechEx provides an independent perspective on these questions and more.

The past decade has seen an ever-increasing number of companies within the graphene market, with a seemingly constant stream of new material suppliers appearing. As is the case for any well-established industry, market stability and profitability are expected to go hand in hand with the emergence of a handful of dominant players within the material supply chain.

Thursday 15 September 2022 - Overview of the broad graphene material family and different manufacturing processes; Graphene market status and outlook; Comparison to incumbent conductive carbon additives; A deep dive into 8 significant application areas with examples, pain points, and market outlook; and much more!

To date, the commercialization of graphene has been more of a "material push" rather than a "market pull"; a solution looking for a problem. In this first phase, there were numerous technical and commercial barriers to overcome, which in materials science does not happen overnight. IDTechEx believes that this is changing, with graphene entering the next stage, the growth phase, of its commercial journey.