On the 5th and 6th of February, 2024, the GRAPHERGIA team participated in the joint kick-off meeting of the sister research and innovation projects related to graphene and 2D materials under the umbrella of the GRAPHENE Flagship Initiative. The Flagship, directed by Patrik Johansson from Chalmers Technology University (CUT), hosted the meeting in Gothenburg, Sweden. 

This two-day event was dedicated to activating the Graphene Flagship projects network and establishing synergies between these EU-funded initiatives. From our team, four persons represented the project: 

  • Spyros Yannopoulos, Foundation For Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH) – coordinator and leading the work related to design, development and optimisation of textile-based TENGs and micro-flexible SCs (Work Package 2).
  • Nasos Masouras, Pleione Energy GmbH (PLE) – leading the work related to LIB cells design and assembly using laser-scribed graphene-based anodes (Work Package 3).
  • Antonios Vavouliotis, Adamant Composites Ltd. (ADA) – leading the work related to the design, manufacturing and testing of representative technology demonstrators (Work Package 5).
  • Mona Marill, AUSTRALO Marketing Lab (AUS) – Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation Lead (Work Package 7).

12 EU-funded graphene sister projects

The first day was dedicated to discussing how projects could concretely collaborate with each other, find common interests and set shared objectives, creating strategies for project management and taking the innovations from the lab to the market, notably with innovation road-mapping, standardisation and outreach. During the day, all 12 Graphene Flagship sister projects presented their objectives and work plans for the first project year, with a place for open discussions and networking.

The Graphene Flagship underlined the importance of finding concrete collaborations established within the different working groups of this ecosystem dedicated to coordination, dissemination, innovation and standardisation. Also, the Flagship encouraged our projects to bring new stakeholders to the ecosystem. Our GRAPHERGIA team has already started planning the opportunities for collaboration, notably with the ARMS project that will deploy graphene for structural supercapacitors. 

Spyros Yannopoulos, GRAPHERGIA coordinator from FORTH, presenting our project at the Graphene Flagship Common Kick of Meeting and Science and Technology Forum – 5 February 2024

The EU strategic partnership dedicated to materials: Innovative Advanced Materials for the EU (IAM4EU)

On the second day, the Graphene Flagship’s Science and Technology Forum focused on the new European strategic partnership dedicated to materials: Innovative Advanced Materials for the EU (IAM4EU). The European Union will co-fund this partnership programme from 2025 onwards, supporting research and innovation in the wide spectrum of innovative materials applied in the energy, transport, construction and electronics sectors. The partnership’s strategic innovation action framework is being elaborated (by the European Commission, with support from 2DMI and AMI2030), and it will frame the IAM4EU work programmes, with calls for proposals foreseen from 2025 onwards. During the forum, the Graphene Flagship projects had an opportunity to express their priorities for this strategic framework. 

Patrik Johansson, the Graphene Flagship director, speaking about the EU strategic partnership dedicated to materials: Innovative Advanced Materials for the EU (IAM4EU) – 6 February 2024

We look forward to hosting and inviting you to the next joint workshops we plan to organise in 2024 with the Graphene Flagship sister projects.

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