The Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) launched the ‘Graphene-Aurora program’ at a function in Maker Village Kochi, Kerala.
The program shall be implemented by Digital University Kerala with joint funding from MeitY, Government of India and Government of Kerala and Industry partners, with the total budget outlay of Rs 94.85 Crore, wherein, Carborundum Pvt Limited joined as one of the main industry partners.
In 2022, A MoU was signed between the Digital University of Kerala, the Centre for Materials and Electronic Technology (C-MET) and Tata Steel to set up India Innovation Centre for Graphene in Kochi.
Graphene is often referred to as a wonder material for its extraordinary electrical and electronic properties.Graphene was discovered in 2004 by Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, who received the Nobel Prize in Physics for this in 2010. It is stronger than steel, very stretchable and can be used as a flexible conductor. Its thermal conductivity is much higher than that of silver. Graphene has a number of properties which makes it interesting for several different applications. It is an ultimately thin, mechanically very strong, transparent and flexible conductor. It can be used in applications such as touch screens, light panels and solar cells.
Graphene has a lot of promise for additional applications: anti-corrosion coatings and paints, efficient and precise sensors, faster and efficient electronics, flexible displays, efficient solar panels, faster DNA sequencing, drug delivery, and more.
Addressing the gathering, MeitY Secretary, Alkesh Kumar Sharma said that a section 8 company (not for profit) called ‘India Graphene Engineering and Innovation Centre (I-GEIC)’ shall be set up and the initial operations will start from the recently opened facility of Government of Kerala at Digital Science Park in Trivandrum. It shall fill the gap between R&D and commercialization by providing a complete facility to startup and industry.
He mentioned that creation of a commercialization eco-system for graphene as an emerging technology would help India take a pole position in the world’s new material market.
MeitY announced the progress and contributions of Maker Village, to the development of hardware startups in the country, and assured MeitY’s support for the creation of a complete ecosystem for Electronics Product Testing.