Teesside-based Applied Graphene Materials (AGM)has announced a major breakthrough in the commercialisation of graphene after registering a patent for its new technology, called Structural Ink.

This ‘wonder material’ is a form of carbon that is tough, a better conductor than copper and just one atom thick — and it can be printed directly onto composites.

The company says its application to specific areas will allow optimisation of the performance and structural design of composite materials, which ultimately will improve component integrity, enable further weight reduction and also reduce total manufacturing costs.

AGM has formed a number of partnerships looking at ways to apply graphene. These include a link-up with the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) and aerospace giant Boeing, as well as Milton Keynes-based motor-sport company Prodrive Composites.

Richard Scaife, AMRC composites centre manager, said: “Over the last 24 months, our research staff and engineers have been collaborating with AGM on its Structural Ink technology development, and we are delighted to now progress to a formal long-term agreement.

While this technology is still relatively immature in aerospace terms, we believe it highlights significant potential for performance improvements with both weight and cost savings to those designing critical composite structures.

“We will be sharing information on this technology with our aerospace partners in the near future, but we also see the potential for early adoption with partners operating in less safety-critical industrial sectors.”

Jon Mabbitt, chief executive of Applied Graphene Materials, said: “We are very excited about the opportunity that Structural Ink opens up for AGM and our customers.

“While we continue to collaborate with customers on developing ‘tailored graphene dispersions’ for a range of applications, this printing technology offers AGM another route to market, plus a tried and tested product offer that we believe will be very compelling for composites end users (www.appliedgraphenematerials.com).”