World’s thinnest material strengthens the packaging industry

Graphene is the youngest material in the world. Nevertheless, it has already won a Nobel Prize and is considered more lightweight than cotton and stronger than steel. In addition, graphene conducts electricity faster than many other materials. Since its discovery in 2004, the material has generated great interest – but where in the price-pressured packaging industry does it fit in?

An exciting material to say the least, graphene consists of carbon atoms arranged in a thin, two-dimensional layer. By way of comparison, graphene is usually described as one million times thinner than a strand of hair.

“There is something about the possibilities of the material – once you realise what you can do with graphene, it’s next to impossible to let it go,” Helena Henke, CEO of 2D fab, says.

Pioneers of graphene production

Born out of Mid Sweden University, 2D fab is a leader in large-scale production of green graphene. The company has developed a large-scale and green graphene production process. Helena has extensive experience from start-ups and scale-ups with focus on business, technology and organisation. A few years ago, she moved to Sundsvall, Sweden, where she worked as Management Consultant, including at 2D fab. “I had no background in graphene, but I quickly fell in love with the potential and passion of both the material and the company.”

What are the challenges and opportunities in the packaging industry?

As already mentioned, the packaging industry is price-pressured, which brings challenges. Since 2D fab can produce large volumes at a competitive price, it’s a great fit for the packaging industry, which requires large amounts of material. But how can the world’s thinnest material contribute to a sustainable industry?

For example, graphene can be used in adhesives in the production of corrugated cardboard, significantly shortening the drying time. This increases production capacity as well as reduces energy consumption, as production can take place at lower temperatures. Graphene conducts both heat and electricity faster than other materials. Although everyone agrees that graphene will revolutionise the industry, it is a mythical material with great complexity. It requires some explanation to understand the potential without misinterpreting the properties.

Jon Wingborg is in charge of the Swedish graphene ecosystem at the strategic innovation programme SIO Grafen. SIO Grafen strives to make Swedish companies world leaders in graphene and other 2D materials, with Chalmers Industriteknik being an active partner in many projects. “In one way, 20 years may seem like a very long time, but in terms of new materials, it’s actually very short. When first discovered, graphene, with its properties being 200 times stronger than steel, people thought it could revolutionise the industry, like the building of cars with something as thin as a sheet of paper. Expectations were high, but in reality, the first experiments only produced a flake that was the size of one micrometre and not at all 200 times stronger than steel,” he explains.

Graphene – a solution for sustainable production

According to Jon Wingborg, it has taken a lot of experimentation to understand that strength is not the main property of graphene. Rather, it’s about other properties and getting them to interact with the existing industrial processes. Helena Henke agrees, as she also highlights everyone’s expectations of the material, which have become synonymous with graphene. “There is often a lingering question as to why graphene, praised for its exceptional properties, isn’t already being used everywhere.

The answer lies in the challenge of transferring something from the controlled environment of a laboratory to large-scale industrial production,” she says.

Realising something that has been perfected in a lab environment, proving that it works in an existing industrial production process, is indeed a challenge. 2D fab is working on two parallel tracks to achieve this. “On the one hand, we’re developing brand new materials, which takes time, because not only does the graphene have to work, but other components must interact as well, for example when replacing a formaldehyde adhesive with a bio-based alternative. On the other hand, we’re trying to reinforce existing materials, which requires our material to be integrated into the customer’s current and working processes.

Therefore, our materials must be customised to perfection”, Helena Henke explains. It’s not like adding salt and pepper directly to your food: “We’re talking about nanomaterials that, in very small quantities, must work flawlessly in large production processes and end products,” she says.

Further developments and future perspectives

Graphene is an exciting future material despite its complexity and young age. Especially when it comes to improving sustainability in the packaging industry. Graphene can contribute to reducing climate impact. For example, by reducing resource utilisation, reinforcing materials, increasing recyclability and replacing hazardous substances, such as formaldehyde adhesives, with bio-based alternatives reinforced by graphene.

Above all, it’s about graphene’s main property – its ability to conduct heat and electricity at lightning speed. But what is the significance of that property for the manufacturing of packaging? Helena Henke and Jon Wingborg would argue that it is enormous.

Because by adding graphene to existing composites, you get a heat conductive “supermaterial.” Something that is crucial for reducing energy consumption in the production of packaging materials. “Where we work a lot with adhesives and sealants, heat conduction is a critical factor.

By improving heat conduction, we can lower the temperature in production, as less heat is required, for example, to dry an adhesive. This results in shorter drying times, as the heat is either transferred away from or spreads more efficiently in the material,” Helena Henke explains.

Two of 2D fab’s focus areas are electromagnetic shielding and antistatic materials. This involves developing materials that can dissipate electromagnetic radiation to protect the contents.
“We’re also working to improve the barrier properties. One of our goals is to develop a film that can replace aluminium in liquid board packaging, which would allow the use of a recyclable material,” she says.

A green transition in sight at Scanpack 2024

In conclusion, both Helena Henke and Jon Wingborg see great opportunities for the packaging industry. However, it will require the proper expectations and understanding of the properties and applications of graphene, which, in the right context, can produce groundbreaking improvements. “This isn’t a one-person endeavour.

And in Sweden, we’re good at collaborating. We have many small companies working together,” Jon Wingborg says. Together, Helena Henke and Jon Wingborg will be opening the stage programme at the 2024 edition of Scanpack on 22-25 October at the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre in Gothenburg.

“After all, that’s what drives us. The fact that graphene is a material that can enable a green transition,” Helena Henke says.

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