What is the industrial potential behind the graphene academic R&D hype?
$141M GRAPHENE MATERIALS MARKET IN 2024 WILL BE DRIVEN MAINLY BY TRANSPARENT CONDUCTIVE ELECTRODES AND ENERGY STORAGE APPLICATIONS
Graphene is a two-dimensional (2D) material with exceptional properties, such as ultrahigh electrical and thermal conductivities, wide-range optical transmittance and excellent mechanical strength and flexibility. These properties make it a promising material for emerging and existing applications in printed & flexible circuitry, ultrafast transistors, touch screens, advanced batteries and supercapacitors, ultrafast lasers, photodetectors and many other non-electronic applications.
Although graphene technology is still in its infancy, remarkable progress has been made in the last few years developing graphene production methods. Numerous opto and electronic devices based on graphene have been demonstrated on lab-scale models. However, the numerous challenges of graphene technology should not be underestimated. The lack of bandgap in graphene is its key fundamental challenge. Other technology challenges are related to the development of industrial methods to produce graphene with high and consistent quality at acceptable costs.
Although today there is no graphene-based electronic application in mass production, several companies already offer commercially graphene materials. The graphene material market value in 2013 was about $11 million, represented principally by the demand for the R&D and prototyping. Two scenarios for the future market growth are presented in the report. According to the base scenario, the global annual market value for graphene materials in opto and electronic applications will reach $141 million in 2024, featuring a 2013-2019 CAGR of 18.5%. Accelerated market growth is expected after 2019, with a 2019-2024 CAGR of 35.7%. In 2024, the graphene material market will be represented mainly by the demand for transparent conductive electrodes and advanced batteries and supercapacitors.
HOW CAN GRAPHENE TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGES AND APPLICATION POTENTIAL BE TRANSFORMED INTO BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES?
In order to reach the best possible performance on lab-scale devices, high quality materials are required. Material suppliers able to consistently deliver high-quality materials have a competitive advantage on the graphene market.
The booming interest in graphene technologies has led to a high demand on graphene equipment. As shown in the report, CVD equipment makers today mainly focus on the R&D equipment used to produce high-quality graphene.
More information on that report at http://www.i-micronews.com/reports/Graphene-materials-opto-electronic-applications/3/416/