The agreement, which will move the project into the second stage of development, was formalized at a ceremony to mark UNSW’s Torch Innovation Week, a showcase of Australian and Chinese partnerships. The joint venture between UNSW Sydney and Hangzhou Cables received an additional $3 million (around $2,160,000 USD) funding boost that will transfer laboratory research results into the industrial production of a graphene cable pilot line located in Hangzhou.
An initial 10-meter prototype of the cable technology, developed at the Kensington campus over the past two years, showed that graphene can be used to stop electricity leakage that happens with conventional power cable and grids, which could deliver significant savings in electricity and emissions. The technology was invented by a UNSW research team led by materials scientist Professor Sean Li.
The project is a flagship collaboration of the Torch Innovation Precinct at UNSW – an unprecedented partnership between UNSW-led research teams and Chinese businesses and industries with the capital and market access needed to translate Australian research into high-impact new products, processes and services.
Professor Brian Boyle, UNSW Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Enterprise, announced that according to the test results of the National Measurement Institute (NMI), graphene-copper composite wire developed in phase one of the project reduced resistivity by 3.8%, compared with that of the copper wire within the same area.
Professor Li said the "ultimate goal in phase two is to continue optimizing fabrication parameters to increase China’s grid transmission efficiency by 5%".