US and China Collaborate On Graphene

A funny thing happened between the U.S. and China this past winter — a collaboration on a technology which has transistor-magnitude potential in terms of changing society. 

News first broke in January about a collaboration between researchers at the Tianjin International Center for Nanoparticles and Nanosystems (TICNN) at Tianjin University, and a team from the Georgia Institute of Technology’s school of physics, led by Walter de Heer. 

Their invention: the first functional graphene-based semi-conductor. 

It’s nothing less than one of the cornerstones of the graphene-based future we’ve been hearing about for at least the last ten years, but now, it’s coming closer to reality. 

The major breakthrough that separates de Heer’s efforts from all that came before was overcoming graphene’s natural lack of band gap — a property which enables switching the flow of electrons on and off. 

The end result was a product that operated at ten times the efficiency of silicon — meaning it could move electrons at ten times less resistance. 

It’s like driving on a gravel road versus driving on a freeway. It’s more efficient, it doesn’t heat up as much, and it allows for higher speeds so that the electrons can move faster.

It’s like driving on a gravel road versus driving on a freeway. It’s more efficient, it doesn’t heat up as much, and it allows for higher speeds so that the electrons can move faster.

Did Edison’s Lightbulb Make The Papers Back In 1879?

Few people celebrated this moment back in January, as it didn’t exactly make the headlines. But history may ultimately remember it among a very short list of other pivotal moments that includes the advent of the first lightbulb filament, the first transistor, and the first integrated circuit. 

Here’s the caveat… We’re probably not going to see consumer tech equipped with these next-generation processors for another decade or so. 

So once again, we’ll be forced to wait. 

What’s coming to us in the near future from the world of graphene, however, may make almost as big an impact. 

Right now, the first graphene batteries are hitting the market, and I bet you’ve already seen them advertised or at least promoted in the press. 

But don’t let the labels and packaging fool you.

The “graphene” batteries currently available are a bit of a misnomer, as almost all of them are actually lithium ion batteries with components containing minute quantities of graphene. 

Things like heat sinks and even casings can benefit massively from the super material, but it’s still too expensive for most companies to produce at primary raw material scale. 

All of that is about to change, however. 

It’s Ten Times Better As A Semi Conductor… And It’s That Much Better In A Battery

There’s a Brisbane, Australian based materials company that’s already producing early batches of a true graphene-based, 100% lithium free rechargeable battery. 

This is no smoke and mirrors. It’s the real thing and the performance stats tell the whole story. 

2-3 times the charge capacity, 3-5 times the service life, and up to 70 times the charge speed, these batteries are nothing short of revolutionary. 

Their presence in the EV market alone could change the face of transportation on a global scale, in just a few short years. 

This company is able to produce these graphene based batteries because they also own the rights to a proprietary graphene production method which drops overhead by orders of magnitude. 

Requiring nothing more than natural gas, air and electricity, the graphene is some of the finest and cheapest in the world. 

And these batteries, once released commercially, will rapidly change the entire landscape of portable energy storage. 

Let’s Not Get Lazy… We’re Still Competing With The Chinese

Now, academic collaborations aside, we’re still in direct competition with the Chinese economically, and to them, lithium is what oil is to OPEC.

So these batteries have another advantage that those with a mind for geopolitics will appreciate.

Cheap, reliable, fireproof, and completely independent of lithium, these batteries could easily disrupt the entire industry.

Looking onward to the end of the decade, that’s nearly a quarter trillion in annual sales globally — most of it going directly back to the CCP — in the crosshairs of a single Australian company that today is valued at less than $100M. 

Talk about a disbalance, right?

The long term value here is easily in the billions, but it will take some time and patience to get there. 

If you want to learn more about this, and understand the true potential, check out this video presentation.