News & Intelligence

ABII and IDSurvey are enhancing standards, testing, and certification to meet rising global demand for Indonesian biochar.

PV PAINT plans to launch nanotube-enhanced zinc-rich coatings in Q3 2026, expanding its PERAPHENE™ line. These coatings offer long-term corrosion protection for harsh industrial environments.

FMScarbon, a carbon fiber tube supplier in China, has achieved ISO9001:2024 certification for its quality management system.

Rainbow has updated its BioCCS methodology to align with the EU CRCF framework, including biochar as an eligible CO2 capture module. This alignment could enhance the adoption of biochar in carbon capture and storage strategies within the EU.

Researchers at Kyiv Aviation Institute published a review of 2021–2026 experimental studies on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in reinforced concrete, finding that dosages of 0.05–0.15% by weight of binder increase crack initiation moment by 20–42% and reinforcement bond strength by 16–35%. The findings support broader use of carbon nanotubes as a concrete additive, with identified synergistic effects when combined with fiber reinforcement or micro-fillers offering a pathway to more ductile structural composites.

Boeing and Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials are testing prototype cabin sidewall panels made from pyrolysis-derived recycled carbon fiber under Mitsubishi's KyronTEX material line, while separate simulation research found a scaled-down wing spar built from recycled carbon fiber performed within acceptable stress margins compared to a virgin-fiber equivalent. Recycled carbon fiber remains limited to non-structural or secondary aerospace applications due to unresolved fiber length, alignment, and surface sizing deficiencies, with primary structural qualification requiring years of additional testing and supply chain development.

Researchers and engineers are evaluating graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide as adsorbents, antifouling coatings, catalytic supports, and modified membrane layers within industrial water treatment systems targeting COD removal, biofouling control, and reverse osmosis feed protection. The graphene sector faces a clear scaling challenge, as industrial adoption of these carbon nanomaterials depends on demonstrating mechanical stability, resistance to chemical cleaning cycles, controlled delamination, and validated cost-per-cubic-meter performance in pilot tests using real effluent matrices.

Terrance Barkan of the Advanced Carbons Council and Dr. Andrew Pollard of the UK's National Physical Laboratory discussed how measurement science, standardization, and materials verification underpin the commercialization of graphene and other advanced carbon materials. For the sector, the conversation highlights that without validated characterization methods and traceable measurement standards, reproducible manufacturing and scalable deployment of carbon nanomaterials — including graphene, carbon nanotubes, and emerging MXenes — remain unachievable.

Anton Paar launched the Brabender AbsorptoMeter, an automated instrument that measures oil absorption numbers (OAN and COAN) in powders including carbon black, recovered carbon black, graphene, and battery electrode materials, supporting ASTM and ISO test methods. The system automates a previously manual testing process for carbon black and graphene characterisation, with software-controlled titration, real-time torque monitoring, and enterprise data integration via OPC UA and Brabender WebAPI.

Terrance Barkan of The Graphene Council published a framework mapping the commercialization maturity journey of graphene through stages from discovery to mature commercialization, identifying nine recurring obstacles including capital access, regulation, standardization, and value chain complexity. The framework positions graphene as approaching proven commercial viability in multiple application areas—including composites, construction materials, and thermal management—while arguing that its "killer application" lies in broad adoption as a performance-enhancing additive across sectors rather than in any single use case.

Researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory used a 36 Tesla magnet to observe a previously unknown flat-band state in pristine graphene that emerges at integer multiples of an applied magnetic field, publishing the findings in Physical Review Letters. The tunable band structure could inform the design of graphene-based Hall sensors and resistance metrology standards.

Scientists at the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science demonstrated a graphene-based terahertz modulator achieving 92% modulation depth at 0.4 THz and switching speeds approaching 100 GHz, with results published in Nature Photonics. The device's fabrication in standard semiconductor cleanroom processes positions graphene as a viable material for scalable 6G wireless components operating in the terahertz band.

Researchers from the University of Warwick, University of Nottingham, and Diamond Light Source grew graphene films with controllable defect densities using a molecule called azupyrene, which naturally incorporates five- and seven-membered carbon rings, with defect levels tuned by growth temperature. The method gives the graphene sector a reproducible route to engineer surface reactivity, with direct implications for graphene-based catalysts and gas sensors.

Jin, Hong, Fonseca, and colleagues used MD simulations with AIREBO and ReaxFF potentials to study how parallel crack spacing affects fracture in H-passivated graphene, finding a brittle-to-ductile transition beyond a critical crack gap. The results show that crack geometry alone can tune graphene's fracture behavior, with direct implications for defect engineering strategies in graphene-based composites and devices.