Graphene: 100x Stronger Than Steel, a Breakthrough Material for Manufacturing

Cathy Ma Jul 18, 2022

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Welcome to this week’s edition of the Thomas Index Report.

Dubbed the world’s “super material," graphene continues to take the manufacturing industry by storm. According to research published by Facts and Factors, graphene’s unique properties have led to a number of revolutionary innovations, triggering a steady rise in market revenue. Currently valued at nearly $573 million, graphene is projected to grow to $1.3 billion by 2028.

Despite measuring a mere one atom thick, it remains one of the strongest known materials on the planet. Graphene’s strength, however, is only one of its many game-changing properties. Along with being more than 100 times stronger than steel, it is also flexible, transparent, and highly conductive.

The rising demand for graphene in a number of industries — including electronics, biomedical technology, and renewable energy — is driving much of this exponential growth. Its microscopic thinness and highly conductive nature make it an ideal material for portable electronics such as smartphones, tablets, headphones, and wearable fitness devices. Researchers from the University of Cambridge have also found that applying a protective coating of graphene on hard disk drives reduced heat-related wear and tear, allowing for a tenfold increase in data storage capacity.

Graphene’s innovative properties also present a host of applications for the environmental protection and renewable energy industries. It has proven to be an ideal material in the manufacturing of solar cells, water filtration systems, as well as in the production of greener concrete. Studies out of Brisbane, Australia, have found that graphene-based batteries used in electrical vehicles charge up to 60 faster and hold three times the energy of current aluminum-based batteries.

With the many promising breakthroughs across a number of manufacturing industries, we see a dramatic increase in graphene-related sourcing activity on Thomasnet.com. Traffic in 2022 jumped 166% over last year’s quarterly average and a whopping 1,932% year over year.

I am Cathy Ma, and this is the Thomas Index Report.