Industrial production of graphene has commenced in Kerala with the manufacturing beginning at Carborundum Universal Limited under the Murugappa Group here. The product has tremendous possibilities in the electric and electronic industries. The State has made a major leap in its industrial progress by initiating the production of graphene, said P. Rajeeve, Minister for Industries, in a release here on Friday.
Carborundum Universal has designed a special project, Grapheno, as part of the production of the nanomaterial. It had set up a lab and a plant spread over 12,000 sq ft at Kakkanad as part of the initiative. The plant has a capacity to process about 6 lakh litres of graphene powder annually. Graphene coatings are used in automotive detailing. The company has signed agreements with Manchester University, IIT Chennai, and the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) for industrial research, according to the communication.
M.M. Murugappan, chairman of the company, said the group is an active partner in the State government’s India Innovation Centre for graphene project.
Mr. Rajeeve said the State has signed agreements with the Universities of Manchester, Oxford and Edinburgh in the U.K. for cooperation in the field of graphene.
He said the aim is to establish innovative industries that make optimum use of the latest technology. The government will extend help to organisations involved in the development of nanotechnology and in innovative areas such as graphene production.
