MEGAMORPH Project to commercialize graphene-based holographic displays

We are excited to announce the approval and funding of our project “Market-Entry of Graphene-based large-Area MOdulators with a Radical Production of Holographic displays” (MEGAMORPH). This is part of ATTRACT Phase 2 that has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme.

For the following 26 months, SCALE Nanotech will coordinate the MEGAMORPH project funded with 2 million EUR to develop evaluation kits that will integrate graphene-MEMS display technology. This project will help establish the steppingstone for commercialization of such display technology for many applications.

MEGAMORPH is a follow-up to the Graphene Interferometric Modulator Display (GIMOD) project  implemented through ATTRACT Phase 1 with renewed ambitions. MEGAMORPH project consortium is composed of innovation leaders with a market-driven: Graphenea Semiconductor, Morphotonics, TNO, CIN-ergy and VividQ.

The value-chain concept of the MEGAMORPH consortium aims at producing evaluation kits with industrial drive to enable a fast and disruptive market entry by 2024.

The acronym “MEGAMORPH” reflects the big change that the project must achieve: boosting the development of AR/VR products in Europe with a unique graphene-based technology, with one clear mindset: Go Big or Go Home.

Let the fun begin!

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1st prize goes to… SCALE Nanotech!

We reboot our regular announcements with the first great news in 2022: SCALE Nanotech has won the INNOspace Masters award for the Airbus challenge!

Barbara and Santiago presented our latest disruptive tech, G-Mirrors, as the ideal solution to minimize space debris while replacing optical components that are unnecessarily bulky and expensive to launch and service. DLR covers the feat in German here.

G-Mirror technology exploits the properties of graphene and combines them with nanotech design to achieve optical and mechanical performance that cannot be found in nature. Moreover, these ultra-lightweight nanofilms can be scaled up in size in an affordable and industrial manner.

With G-Mirrors, graphene goes big or stays home.

Stay tuned for more exciting news!

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Coverage by Postimees and e-Residency

Following the Radio interview, SCALE Nanotech is again on the spotlight! Our sciencepreneurship story appeared on Saturday’s print edition of Postimees, the daily newspaper with the largest circulation and readership in Estonia, in a complete page also describing our graphene research. The online version contains the long version of the interview:

https://teadus.postimees.ee/7324645/tehnoloogiaturg-hoidku-alt-grafeen-muudab-meie-maailma-tundmatuseni

Excitingly, Santiago is also featured in the official blog of Estonia’s e-Residency Programme:

https://e-resident.gov.ee/blog/posts/this-scientists-space-ambitions-are-powered-by-light-and-e-residency

As part of our joint efforts to promote more scientific and deep-tech startups, SCALE Nanotech participated in an online event for CERN entrepreneurs. The complete presentation is available online in this link.

We are very proud of to be part of e-Residency program and immensely grateful to its team for having made possible the existence of SCALE Nanotech when most needed. Following the same mindset, SCALE Nanotech wants to support other scientists to fulfill their entrepreneurial curiosity and passion as part of our ambitious goal to create a cooperative network of EU-based sciencepreneurs. Do not hesitate to contact us if interested!

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Santiago on the Estonian radio

Last week Marek Strandberg interviewed Santiago as part of the radio show “Kukkuv õun” (“Falling Apple”). The conversation can be found in the link below (dubbed to Estonian):

Kukkuv Õun 2021-08-13

Santiago talks about graphene and other 2D materials, their applications and upcoming commercial products. The story of SCALE Nanotech and our works on displays and lightsails were also covered, to end with Santiago’s vision on a “magical” near future (Clarke’s 3rd rule).

SCALE Nanotech looks forward to continue engaging local players in Estonia and international partners that enable our roadmap. More exciting news to come during 2021!

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Member of the Graphene Flagship

SCALE Nanotech has become Associate Member of the exclusive Graphene Flagship, the €1-billion EU-funded consortium composed of 170 public institutions from 21 countries and –now– 99 private companies tasked with taking graphene from the realm of academia into the market by 2023. This decision acknowledges our high quality work and track record, and confirms that we are in the right direction.

The rare combination of graphene deep-tech understanding and advanced business skills from SCALE Nanotech brings big value to the Graphene Flagship in its final sprint to serve society: we will accelerate the industrial adoption of 2D materials in high-tech products and help the Graphene Flagship with the European Commission’s mandate to transition from R&D to commercialization.

SCALE Nanotech can effectively connect the vast scientific knowledge to the right market by combining research results and translating them into an applied solution for specific sectors. For that reason, we foresee to work across the Graphene Flagship workpackages to tackle and potentially solve existing problems in particular markets such as the space sector. Moreover, we aim to contribute to the freshly launched 2D Experimental Pilot Line by advocating a priority access for non-academic customers that attends the demanding strategies found in real market competition, which would enable our promotion of its services to companies commercializing high-tech products.

 

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SCALE Nanotech featured in Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR)

The Estonian Public Broadcasting (Eesti Rahvusringhääling or ERR) interviewed Santiago and made a nice story about SCALE Nanotech and its recent successful research on graphene sails and displays. The article can be found on their Science/Universum section:

https://novaator.err.ee/1097724/tuleviku-kosmosesondid-voiksid-liikuda-grafeenpurjede-joul

The news are in Estonian language, but you can read a translation in English here.

Aitäh Jaan-Juhan!

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Science|Business features GIMOD project

Brussels-based, influential media Science|Business highlights this week GIMOD Project along the other graphene projects from ATTRACT consortium. The coverage of our breakthrough technology makes a new milestone in our ambition to bring graphene from the lab to the market as Science|Business makes promising innovations visible to Europe’s industry and policymakers.

https://sciencebusiness.net/unwrapping-many-gifts-graphene

SCALE Nanotech currently coordinates the GIMOD consortium, completed with partner Graphenea Semiconductor, for the GIMOD Project in H2020’s ATTRACT (breAkThrough innovaTion pRogrAmme for a pan-European Detection and Imaging eCosysTem, Grant agreement 777222):

https://attract-eu.com/selected-projects/graphene-interferometric-modulator-displays-gimod-project/

 

ATTRACT consortium awarded GIMOD consortium a 100k€ grant to create a proof-of-concept graphene interferometric modulator display to be used in VR/AR visors, thus bringing the technology from TRL6 to TRL7, and to push for its commercialization in 23 years. However, the interview with Science|Business revealed that, maybe, the commercialization of GIMOD is more imminent than expected. We anticipate exciting news coming soon!

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Publication on G-Sails

We are happy to announce that our first manuscript on graphene sails was published in Acta Astronautica!

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2020.03.030

These pioneering results required special effort from the GrapheneSail team: Davide, Rocco and myself (Santiago) worked very hard to make the microgravity experiment at ZARM Drop Tower, analyze the complex data, write the scientific report and improving the manuscript with the critical comments from reviewers. Congratulations, we made a light-hearted leap for humankind!

We also thank Graphenea Semiconductor for providing the material; ZARM Drop Tower staff, who tremendously helped us to engineer and set up the difficult experiment; and Dr. Astrid Orr from ESA for her trust in our proposal. We look forward to continue the collaborations and bring more exciting progress to this research line.

Due to the importance of our results, we have sent a press release to EurekAlert! that can be found in this link. Stay tuned for more news!

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Easter egg

In exceptional times, exceptions are the rule and it seems to be a good moment to make one reflection instead of actual news.

There is a nice text circulating the Internet to give hope and optimism in these hard times due to the COVID-19 crisis; it is (most likely) wrongly attributed to Albert Einstein, so here we will simply say that what inspires humans are not the idols, celebrities or titans, but the heartfelt experiences of other fellow humans that can bring light to darkness:

Let’s not pretend that things will change if we keep doing the same things. A crisis can be a real blessing to any person, to any nation. For all crises bring progress.

Creativity is born from anguish, just like the day is born form the dark night. It’s in crisis that inventiveness is born, as well as discoveries made and big strategies. He who overcomes crisis, overcomes himself, without getting overcome. He who blames his failure to a crisis neglects his own talent and is more interested in problems than in solutions. Incompetence is the true crisis. The greatest inconvenience of people and nations is the laziness with which they attempt to find the solutions to their problems.

There’s no challenge without a crisis. Without challenges, life becomes a routine, a slow agony.

There’s no merit without crisis. It’s in the crisis where we can show the very best in us. Without a crisis, any wind becomes a tender touch. To speak about a crisis is to promote it. Not to speak about it is to exalt conformism. Let us work hard instead. Let us stop, once and for all, the menacing crisis that represents the tragedy of not being willing to overcome it.

SCALE Nanotech recognizes this reality since creativity, challenge and crisis are part of its genetic code from its birth. We are digital, thus we adapt to changes; we are virtual, thus geography-independent; we are adaptative, thus ready for whatever future await us.

The COVID-19 crisis is a major health, social and economical threat to the whole world and, while it can affect us psychologically or emotionally, it will not stop us. The creation of SCALE Nanotech was an irrational war declaration against the status quo, against traditions, against the fear of fire, and we do not only embrace the crisis but we face it with our coat of arms, our colorful SCALE armour.

We wish you a Happy Easter and a healthy transition.

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GIMOD Project milestone: first prototypes

The GIMOD consortium has fabricated the first graphene interferometric modulator displays as part of ATTRACT. After an intense month in the sunny and beautiful city of San Sebastian (Spain), profitable results have been obtained: SCALE Nanotech manufactured 21 prototypes and 2 demonstrators with different designs, to be finalized by Graphenea with their patented transfer method of graphene.

First transfers promise a successful achievement of the deliverables 3 months ahead of the deadline. The next months will intensify the work pace as the feedback obtained through the early characterization of prototypes allows for further manufacturing rounds of optimized demonstrators.

The demonstrators will be showcased in industrial fairs and during ATTRACT conference in Brussels on September 22-23th. We are currently under discussions with relevant players that may be willing to support the exploitation and commercialization of the GIMOD technology, so this was a great first quarter of 2020!

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