The specialist in heat processing, SECO/WARWICK, presents the graphene technologies during the Graphene Week taking place right now in Warsaw.
Graphene Week is the annual conference aimed at the development of scientific research of graphene and other 2-dimensional materials applications in various fields. SECO/WARWICK in range of GRAPH ROLL project has designed, developed and created the prototype technological line for graphene manufacturing. According to performed tests, the Lodz University of Technology claims that graphene obtained with use of SECO/WARWICK SuperCarb® solution is a product of properties that are close to the theoretical ones which significantly expands the range of its current applications.
The project “Graphene nanocomposite for reverse hydrogen storage” (acronym GRAPH ROLL) is realized in consortium with the Lodz University of Technology in range of national programme for supporting the research and development works of graphene applications (GRAF-TECH). The project is co-financed from resources of the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR).
The prototype technological line for graphene manufacturing has been designed and realized in range of the project.The technology of manufacturing the functional nanocomposite material GRAPH ROLL upon the basis of poly-crystalline graphene for reverse hydrogen storage has also been developed. It is designed to make a revolution in automotive industry in near future. GRAPH ROLL allows for a safe storage of high amounts of hydrogen, which is used for fuelling the experimental cars of the future. For many years, the hydrogen conversion into energy required for moving the vehicles has not been problematic for the scientists but its safe and practical storage in the tank. The current technologies have been using very heavy materials, which also do not assure sufficient safety in case of an accident. Both, the technology developed thanks to experience of Piotr Kula, PhD. the Lodz University of Technology, who has been studying hydrogen use as a fuel from the early seventies, i.e. from the beginning of his scientific career and the modern heat processing technologies of SECO/WARWICK have lead to creating the unique on the global scale graphene form that allows for a safe storage and the use of hydrogen in a special tank consisting of thin graphene layers.
It is a breakthrough on the global scale not only for automotive industry but also for aircraft and areospace.
“The graphene development takes place is two directions. On one side, scientists pursue the trials of implementing graphene in various sectors of medicine, industry and science. On the other hand, the manufacturing companies try to develop the technologies simplifying and reducing costs of graphene manufacturing. SECO/WARWICK succeeded not only in lowering costs by using the state-of-the-art heat processing technologies, but also in creating a new quality of graphene, unavailable anywhere else in the world. In practice, it means that the range of graphene applications has also been expanded. I do not know where is the limit of possibilities of that material, but SECO/WARWICK will still be expanding them”, says Katarzyna Sawka, Global Marketing Director of SECO/WARWICK.
“There are two basic directions to be followed. The first one is the continuous improvement of manufacturing technology by the structural improvements and the optimization of the process itself (obtaining graphene of better properties while increasing the manufacturing efficiency, adapted to the market needs). Another one is the development of graphene-based technologies. Even now, it is possible to try to use the obtained graphene for general sensorics, especially for ultra-sensitive positioning sensors, based upon Hall effect (so called Hall generators). Moreover, graphene manufactured with use of SECO/WARWICK devices may be in a few years used on a industrial scale in electronic, power generation, photovoltaic, and plastic industries”, convinces Bartosz Klinowski, President of SECO/WARWICK Europe.
“Since the very beginning the philosophy of SECO/WARWICK has been based upon the development of products and technologies not only in a way to fulfill the needs and expectations of customers, commonly define them, but also to create the technological heat processing centre”, summarizes Paweł Wyrzykowski, President of SECO/WARWICK Group.
Today SECO/WARWICK from Świebodzin is the global company, operating in over 70 countries, on 4 continents. It is known in the heat processing sector from implementing the innovations which change technologies used for over 50 years. It is therefore justified that SECO/WARWICK has been placed among the first ten innovation leaders in ranking of “Rzeczpospolita” daily newspaper as well as the leader in ranking of innovative companies of Lubuskie region.
Direction – graphene
The correct expansion direction has also been confirmed in numerous economical prizes awarded every year for innovations, IT systems, safety and HR investments. Onlythis year SECO/WARWICK has received two nominations for SYMBOL OF INNOVATION 2016 and POLISH INNOVATION AWARD 2016. The respective competition juries have noticed the company activity and research and development projects realized in cooperation with the Lodz University of Technology and the Institute of Electronic Materials Technology (ITME), connected with the design of special furnaces for graphene manufacturing. Both, the University of Technology and the Institute have already made use of them. “We take both nominations with an obvious satisfaction that our work brings good results and we follow the right direction. We also see that the investments in research and development of new technologies bring measurable effects in form of competitive advantage on the demanding markets, where we act”, adds K. Sawka.
SECO/WARWICK cooperates with technical universities, scientific centres and research institutes all over the world. The company actively realizes cooperation programmes with the University of Technology in Łodź, Poznań, Warsaw, Silesia, the ITME in Warsaw, Institut für Metallformung TU Bergakademie in Freiberg in Germany, Central South University in China and National Research Saratov State University in Russia. The intensive cooperation between SECO/WARWICK and many technical universities in Poland brings new technologies and actual implementations. Polish technologies are already used in the whole world in form of technological processes and technical solutions used in heat processing.
More about the event:
The Graphene Week 2016 conference, taking place in 13-17th of June 2016 in Warsaw is organized by Electronic Materials Technology Institute (ITME) in cooperation with University of Warsaw.
