HRH the Duke of York has officially opened the £60 million Masdar Building, which houses the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) at the University of Manchester.
He then toured the 8,400m
2 ‘state of the art’ facility and met leading academics, as well as the university’s graphene-industry partners and entrepreneurs.
The GEIC (
www.graphene.manchester.ac.uk/about/geic) complements the National Graphene Institute’s (NGI) international research focus by concentrating on multi-faceted industry-led applications development.
It is intended to accelerate the commercial impact of graphene and help to realise its potential to revolutionise countless industries.
During his visit, the Duke of York saw an exhibition of the latest graphene products and prototypes, including: graphene-oxide membranes for water filtration; composite battery panels; an unmanned aerial vehicle made with graphene-enhanced carbon fibre; and a modified BAC Mono sports car with graphene-enhanced composite bodywork.
He also met entrepreneurs from five of the university’s graphene spin-out companies, which are developing next-generation applications through the NGI and GEIC, while also establishing their own companies in Manchester.
Luke Georghiou, deputy vice-chancellor of the University of Manchester, said: “The GEIC is a first step to realising a transformation of our wider surroundings.
"Manchester was known as Cottonopolis at the height of the Industrial Revolution; in this century, our aim is to be Graphene City — a district where 2-D materials and complementary technologies drive jobs and growth.”