Dialogue with Nobel Laureates: The Next Decade of the Graphene Industry
On November 14th, a top - level dialogue concerning the future development of the graphene industry kicked off in Wenzhou.
At the 2025 China International Graphene Innovation Conference, the highly anticipated "Nobel Prize Dialogue" arrived as scheduled. Konstantin Novoselov, one of the discoverers of graphene and the 2010 Nobel Prize laureate; Feng Guanping, the founder of the Chinese graphene industry and the chairman of Xinwang New Materials Technology Co., Ltd.; Francesco Bonaccorso, a member of the Italian National Research Council, the scientific and technological director of the Italian BeDimensional company, and the formulator of the EU Graphene Flagship Program roadmap; Li Naihu, the dean of the Research Institute of Chint Group and the vice - president of Chint Electric; and Gao Chao, a distinguished professor at Zhejiang University and the founder of Hangzhou Gaoxi Technology Co., Ltd. - Five heavyweights from the global academic and industrial circles took the stage together for the first time, engaging in in - depth exchanges between cutting - edge concepts and industrial practices. From diagnosing the current situation to finding a way out of the dilemma, from research paradigms to transformation paths, from innovative applications to future predictions... This "peak dialogue" directly addressed the core issues of the graphene industry and outlined the innovative profile for the next decade of development.
01. Precise Diagnosis - The "Way Out" for the Development of the Graphene Industry
At the beginning of the dialogue, the guests shared their opinions on the current development situation and suggestions for the graphene industry. Konstantin said that China increased its investment in the field of graphene technology a decade ago and has achieved remarkable results. Now, China has become a global leader in graphene technology. He added that graphene technology is a sustainable technology that has been applied in many fields such as batteries, electronic products, and thermal management. It continues to show new vitality through breakthroughs in carbon dioxide capture, hydrogen energy economy, etc.
As the founder and front - line practitioner of the Chinese graphene industry, Feng Guanping has invested in many projects in the early stage and firmly believes in the broad prospects of graphene. He introduced that his company is applying graphene innovatively in the field of medical health and has made progress in the treatment of major diseases. Looking forward to the future, he called for continuous increase in industrial investment and continuous expansion of the innovation vision. We should be bold in thinking and action and explore more emerging application fields.
Li Naihu, the dean of the Research Institute of Chint Group, believes that at present, graphene has been successfully commercialized in some fields, but there are still many fields in the laboratory research stage. There is even a phenomenon of "hot in the middle and cold at both ends", where the material preparation end is hot, while the raw material end and the application end are cold. He introduced that Chint started basic research on graphene a decade ago and formed a closed - loop through "basic research + three industrial sectors" to continuously promote the industrialization of graphene in the civilian field.
Francesco Bonaccorso said that the development of the graphene industry requires international cooperation and complementary advantages. For enterprises, especially small and medium - sized enterprises, they must have corresponding industrialization and manufacturing capabilities to achieve sustainable commercial and market development.
02. Foreseeing the Next Decade - Which Application Scenarios in the Future Are More Promising
In the process of graphene moving from the laboratory to the market, how to better accelerate the transformation of innovative technologies into industries through the cooperation of industry, academia, and research? In the dialogue, as the founder of Hangzhou Gaoxi Technology and a professor at Zhejiang University, Gao Chao has deep insights. He said that as an emerging industry, graphene has great development potential and opportunities. The world is basically on the same starting line, and China is fully capable of standing at the global forefront. "In the future, we need to continuously innovate the industry - academia - research mechanism, enabling researchers not only to be the main body of R & D but also to become the main body of industrialization, and promoting the implementation of more new application scenarios."
Li Naihu shared Chint's experience. He believes that institutions of higher learning focus on knowledge - driven development, while enterprises pay more attention to market - driven development. Chint combines the front - line market demand with the R & D resources of universities by establishing joint R & D centers with universities and research institutions to jointly promote technological innovation and product innovation. At the same time, the innovation results can also be incubated within the enterprise to continuously support industrial application.
Regarding which application scenarios are worth exploring and cultivating in the next decade, Konstantin said that he will focus on three directions: sustainable development, medical health, and communication. He specifically pointed out that with the continuous development of various emerging battery technologies, graphene may play an important role in them. In the field of communication, especially quantum communication, Konstantin also believes that with the development of 6G technology, the terahertz frequency band has attracted much attention. Antennas made of graphene materials will play an irreplaceable role in terahertz systems.
In addition, Europe has invested a lot of resources in in - depth research on the application of graphene in medical health. "I think that graphene will develop rapidly in the field of medical health, from artificial organs to clinical treatment to new drugs, opening up huge development prospects for us."
03. The Source of Innovation - Nurturing the Next "Nobel - Level" Breakthrough
When the topic turned to "in which fields the next Nobel Prize may be born in the future", the sparks of thinking flew at the scene.
"I still think that there may be more Nobel Prizes in the future, and they may still be in the field of graphene." Konstantin said that the potential of the two - dimensional material family is far from being exhausted. In - depth research on different types of graphene and other two - dimensional materials will continue to bring surprises. "I am very confident about this."
He particularly mentioned several top - level research centers around the world, including excellent teams in Beijing, Nanjing, Shenzhen and other places, which have not only achieved remarkable results in the field of graphene but also continuously expanded the research boundaries of new materials.
This high - level dialogue provided a reference for thinking for the global graphene industry at a critical juncture. The collision of diverse thinking among the guests is not only a concentrated outbreak of global graphene wisdom but also provides guidance for China's graphene industry in technological innovation, achievement transformation, and ecological construction, promoting the graphene industry to move towards a higher - quality development stage.