The nameplate of Nantong Innovation Base is simple and understated, but big things are expected of it. The facility was established by the Jiangsu Graphene Innovation Center [Photo/ntfabu.com]

A graphene industrial application and development seminar -- that among other things explored the future direction of this important field of endeavor -- was held in Nantong, in eastern Jiangsu province on Aug 25.

Business leaders and experts, including Gan Yong and Jiang Shicheng, academicians from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, attended the seminar and discussed the applications development prospects and market space of graphene and gave suggestions on the grapheme industry in Nantong.

During the seminar, the Jiangsu Graphene Innovation Center also announced it would set up the Nantong Innovation Base in the Nantong Central Innovation District, to promote research and development and applications of graphene in the city.

According to the organizers, laboratories will be built to engage in R&D of cutting-edged technologies, such as graphene genetic engineering and sensors.

In recent years, the Nantong government has placed a lot of emphasis on the development of new materials. Some 172 companies operating in the field have achieved total output value of 160 billion yuan ($22.3 billion) in 2018. A number of projects are currently under construction, including a graphene raw materials base and a graphene nylon chips and fiber production base.

Graphene was discovered by Andrei Heim and Konstantin Novoselov in 2004, which brought them the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010. It is recognized by scientists as the next generation of revolutionary and strategic materials.

With a thickness of only 0.334 nm, graphene possesses a series of excellent properties. Among them is the fact that graphene has been proved to be the sturdiest material, its strength is over 100 times that of steel.

In terms of conductivity, the electron transfer rate of graphene is rated the fastest among the currently known materials. In addition, the light transmitting rate of graphene reaches 97.7 percent. It also has the best thermal conductivity, according to scientists.