Will energy-saving lightbulb become graphene’s first commercial success?
The dimmable light bulb, which is claimed cut energy use by 10% and last longer, will contain a filament-shaped LED coated in graphene was designed at Manchester
University, where graphene was first discovered in 2004 by Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, two Russian-born scientists who both earned the Nobel Prize for Physics and knighthoods.
The light bulb was developed by a Canadian-financed company called Graphene Lighting – one of whose directors is Prof Colin Bailey, deputy vice-chancellor at the
University of Manchester.
The graphene-based product is expected to be priced lower than some LED bulbs, which can cost about £15 each.
Based on traditional light bulb design, graphene enables the design to conduct electricity and heat more effectively.
Prof Bailey told the BBC: "The graphene light bulb will use less energy. We expect it to last longer. The manufacturing costs are lower and it uses more and more
sustainable components."
UK Government’s Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne visited The National Graphene Institute and toured its state-of-the-art cleanrooms and laboratories with Nobel Laureate Professor Sir Kostya Novoselov.
Earlier this month Manchester University saw the UK Government’s Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne opened The National Graphene Institute which has received an investment of £38m via the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. The European Regional Development Fund has also pumped an additional £23m into the Institute.
The 7,825 m2, five-storey building features cutting-edge facilities and equipment throughout to create a world-class research hub. The NGI’s 1,500 square metres of clean room space is the largest academic space of its kind in the world for dedicated graphene research.
The NGI marks the first step in the vision to create a Graphene City in Manchester. Scheduled to open in 2017 the £60m Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) will complement the NGI and initiate further industry-led development in graphene applications with academic collaboration.
In 2014 Chancellor Osborne announced the creation of the £235m Sir Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials at The University of Manchester with satellite centres in Sheffield, Leeds, Cambridge, Oxford and London.
Manchester University has so far partnered more than 35 companies worldwide to develop graphene-based projects.
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