Graphene, the powerful flexible material 200 times stronger than steel and thinner than a strand of hair, is abundant in Brazil and will make the country a leader in the global technological revolution

Graphene: the best conductor in the world. The material revolutionary will become the next global technological revolution, with Brazil at the forefront

Graphene, the revolutionary material abundant in Brazil, will become the next world technological revolution and a new and promising scenario begins to unfold in Rio Grande do Sul, based on the research and production of a substance that has been called by scientists the “material of the future”. The powerful material is the thinnest, lightest and strongest chemical element ever discovered and has the potential to surpass the impact of silicon and plastic on the industry, revolutionizing the market in virtually every area - from cell phones to regenerative medicine.

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President Jair Bolsonaro's visit to check out the graphene research and commercial production plant at UCSGraphene, at UCS, already has a confirmed date: it will be on July 1st. The information was passed on by Zextec, a UCSGraphene partner company, to Caixa-Forte columnist Babiana Mugnol.

Identifying himself as president of Amesne (the Association of Municipalities of the Upper Northeast Encosta), Feltrin highlighted to Bolsonaro the tourist appeal of the Serra and sought to confirm the president's visit in July.

“We are going to have a meeting with you in July at the University of Caxias do Sul about graphene”, said Feltrin. — “Onyx (Lorenzoni, Minister of the General Secretariat of the Government) is preparing (the visit)”, confirmed Bolsonaro.

Graphene: the future of technology

Check out a video below where Prof. doctor Diego Piazza, coordinator of UCSGraphene responds and talks about graphene, UCS research and the possibility of this compound becoming the next global technological revolution, with Brazil at the forefront.

Graphene is a material that, simply because it is the thinnest and best conductor in the world, is seen as the future of technology. Like diamond and coal, the material is one of the forms of carbon and is derived from graphite, whose reserves abound in Brazil, a country that has more than half of its world reserves. It was isolated for the first time in 2004, at the University of Manchester, in England, and, since then, it has become coveted around the world.

These layers of graphite are very resistant if we consider their thickness, being 200 times stronger than steel, thinner than a strand of hair, flexible and practically transparent.

When isolated and used correctly, graphene gains incredible possibilities of use and, therefore, is seen as the solution to several problems in the technology area: from replacing rare and scarce materials to lowering costs for the consumer.

The revolutionary compound can be used in almost anything, from electronics with resilient and flexible screens to batteries energized in seconds, automotive parts, sporting goods and even artificial skin and organs. There are diverse and already advanced research in almost all sectors, such as: aerospace, naval, military, medicine, batteries, electric vehicles, solar panels, blades and wind turbines, nanochips, fiber optic replacement, armor, bulletproof vests and clothing and many others, especially those that use cutting-edge technology.

Brazil will be able to position itself as a leader in this market

Since March 2020, the technological park of the University of Caxias do Sul (TecnoUCS) has housed UCSGraphene, considered the largest graphene generation plant in Latin America, with the capacity to produce five tons of the product per year. By way of comparison, the MGGrafeno project, one of the pioneers in the country, in Minas Gerais, whose plant has been operating since 2018, reaches a volume of about 300 kilograms of the substance per year.

Graphene applications could also revolutionize the Defense Sector. The video below, although older and prior to the commercial production of graphene in RS, explains some of the uses of the compound in this sector:

Niobium and Graphene: Brazil and Japan sign a cooperation agreement to explore production and use of minerals

Brazil and Japan signed a Memorandum of Cooperation in the Field of Technologies Related to the Production and Use of Minerals and to provide a more structured cooperation in the future, including potential joint projects.

“The objective of the bilateral document is to deepen mutual understanding to explore cooperation in the value chain of products that use niobium or graphene and to provide a more structured cooperation in the future, including potential joint projects”, highlights the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a note.

Niobium, a strategic mineral for Brazil, in which the country is the world's largest producer and responsible for approximately 86% of production, currently has Japan as one of the main importers of the ferroniobium alloy (9,6% of exports from Brazil).

Understand what Niobium and Graphene are, the “economic solution” for Brazil

The material so talked about by Bolsonaro was discovered in 1801 by the Englishman Charles Hatchett, Niobium is the lightest of the refractory metals, it is used mainly in ferrous alloys, so powerful that it is used on a scale of 100 grams for each ton of iron.

The use of the material ranges from gas pipeline tubes, airplane engines, rocket propulsion to optical lenses. It is highly resistant to high temperatures and corrosion. Niobium, number 41 on the periodic table, is abundant in Brazilian soil.

Graphene, which is also another point of support for Bolsonaro, is one of the crystalline forms of carbon, as well as diamond and graphite, and can be a substitute for plastic and also for silicon, that is, graphene is a material consisting of an extremely thin layer of graphite. In practice, graphene is the strongest material (200 times more resistant than steel), lighter and thinner (thickness of an atom) that exists, according to studies by the University of California.

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