Researchers and Industry Stakeholders from UAE and Europe Share Research Outcome with Promising Application Potential, and Explore Collaboration Opportunities
Khalifa University of Science and Technology today announced its Research and Innovation Center for Graphene and 2D Materials (RIC2D), the UAE’s flagship research center in the field, in partnership with the Graphene Flagship, part of the European Union’s €1 billion scientific research initiative, hosted the first-ever Graphene Flagship joint symposium in Abu Dhabi to enable key researchers and industry stakeholders from the UAE and Europe to share research outcome with promising application potential, explore collaboration opportunities and discuss incubation of joint ventures.
The symposium titled ‘2D materials: technologies and industrial potential’, was held on 15 May at the Khalifa University Main Campus. With a variety of presentations by leading companies in the industry and researchers from academia, the event served as a networking opportunity between the UAE’s academia and business, and industry stakeholders from the European 2D materials sector.
Dr. Hassan Arafat, Senior Director, RIC2D and Professor, Chemical Engineering, said: “This symposium hosted with our European peers in the field of Graphene and 2D materials reinforced the UAE’s position as a global center for continued scientific advancements and innovations. It also helped to highlight how the UAE is fostering and developing local capabilities and talent, while simultaneously creating a welcoming space for leading innovators from around the world to collaborate and create new opportunities for all involved.”
Hosted by Khalifa University, RIC-2D is part of a strategic investment by the Abu Dhabi Government to advance the scientific development and commercial deployment of technologies derived from graphene and other 2D materials. It already has collaborative research and innovation projects underway with the University of Manchester’s Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC). The RIC-2D Research and Innovation Fund aims to foster research, development, demonstration and deployment of novel technologies derived from graphene and other two-dimensional (2D) material.
Khalifa University has already been collaborating with Dassault Aviation of France on a research project that focuses on developing graphene-based and 2D material technologies for aerospace applications with potential for patenting and commercialization.
Graphene Flagship was founded by the European Commission in 2013. Since then, it has fostered 2D materials’ research, innovation and commercialization on an unprecedented scale, comprising competencies and collaboration among nearly 170 academic and industrial partners in 22 countries.
Clarence Michael
English Editor Specialist
16 May 2023
