News & Intelligence

Researchers at the National University of Singapore have developed aerogels from aircraft composite waste, which may be used for insulation, noise reduction, and cleaning up oil spills.

South Korean researchers have built a carbon nanotube film thinner than a human hair that blocks more than 99.9999999% of electromagnetic waves and evades thermal imaging, with fighter jets and drones the intended use.

A new Biochar Research and Training Facility with a 1.5-ton daily processing capacity opened at Y.S. Parmar University in Himachal Pradesh to address forest fire hazards.

Researchers at Skoltech and the Harbin Institute of Technology have modelled how carbon nanotube smart sensors behave under the extreme temperatures and loads found in aircraft, predicting performance without physical testing.

Researchers at the University of Arizona demonstrated that graphene nanoribbons can withstand gamma radiation, suggesting their potential use as radiation sensors in fusion reactors and deep space applications.

Cal Fire is testing packs of five autonomous drones, each made of carbon fiber and weighing 400 pounds, to enhance wildfire operations in California.

Bingel, Prato and Diels-Alder reactions each attach different groups to the C60 cage, changing solubility, electronic behaviour and how the fullerene organises with neighbouring molecules.

A report on biochar plants in Rajasthan indicates that UV treatment effectively maintains faecal coliform levels within permissible limits in treated liquids at most sites. This is significant for the biochar sector as it highlights the potential of biochar to be used in wastewater management while addressing environmental safety concerns.

Researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, along with collaborators, have developed a perovskite solar cell with a graphene-oxide interface that achieves 27.3% power conversion efficiency and maintains over 90% of this efficiency after 770 hours of operation. This advancement addresses the stability issues in all-perovskite triple-junction cells, potentially paving the way for more durable and efficient solar technologies using carbon-based materials like graphene.

Green Development plans to establish a large battery storage facility at its biochar plant in Quonset. The project could enhance the integration of biochar production with renewable energy storage, potentially increasing efficiency and sustainability in the sector.

Researchers at the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology have developed a sensor electrode using a composite material of graphene, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and gold nanoparticles that can detect pesticide residues at concentrations as low as parts per billion (ppb). This advancement is significant for the field of advanced carbon materials as it enhances the sensitivity and functionality of sensors, contributing to improved agricultural product monitoring and food safety.

Penguin Shipyard International has completed and delivered the largest composite superstructure ever built in Singapore for the Republic of Singapore Navy's new Multi Role Combat Vessel, with the first of six structures handed over to Saab on June 27, 2026. The use of carbon fiber composites in the superstructure reduces weight and radar cross-section, enhancing the ship's stability and stealth capabilities compared to conventional steel designs.

The Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 use carbon-fiber-reinforced composite materials for roughly 50% of their airframe by weight, making tail strike damage harder to detect and repair than on metal-fuselage aircraft like the Boeing 777, as illustrated by an Air France A350 that required nearly ten months of repairs after a 2024 tail strike in Toronto. For the carbon fiber composites sector, the article highlights that barely visible impact damage, complex non-destructive inspection requirements, and process-sensitive repair procedures drive significant maintenance downtime and cost, underscoring the need for advanced damage detection and repair capabilities in aerospace composite applications.

CSIC researchers developed an 18-micron graphene-polymer composite separator combining polypropylene with 0.5 wt% reduced graphene oxide, achieving 4x greater puncture resistance and a 60% reduction in thermal-runaway initiation temperatures in lithium-ion batteries. The development advances reduced graphene oxide as a functional additive in battery separators, with pilot-scale production underway alongside a Spanish cell manufacturer targeting NCM-based EV applications.