If you have a moment when you arrive in the reception of the National Graphene Institute (NGI) in Manchester, look at the wall on your left. Yesterday I did this and saw a dark grey surface, lustrous in the morning light. Look closer and you’ll see a pattern of hexagons engraved on its surface. This tells you that the wall is made of graphite, the primary source of graphene, the founding material for the NGI.
No time to ponder further, I’m ushered towards the elevator and step out into the excited buzz that is the graphene connect showcase event, 2017.The first thing I notice is a supercar, rather hard to miss in the livery of the Isle of Man Police (the British sense of fun).
The car is here because much of the carbon fibre composite it contains is enhanced with graphene from Haydale Graphene Industries PLC (LON:HAYD), one of the emerging companies commercialising graphene composites.
