A research project led by a researcher at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg has been selected as a scientific flagship worth half a billion euros in EU funding.
The graphene project, which is led by theoretical physicist Jari Kinaret, will develop the potential of a new super material known as graphene. The material is made of a single layer of carbon atoms and is stronger than diamond, yet ultrathin and flexible.
According to the researchers it has the potential to revolutionise among others the automobile and airline industries as well as the electronics industry.
The project was one of two research proposals selected in the EU’s high profile funding contest. This means it will receive about half a billion euros (about 4.3 billion kronor) from the EU Commission over the next 10 years.
According to local newspaper Göteborgs-Posten, private investors are expected to contribute at least the same amount. Nokia and Airbus are already part of the project.
While the project is led by Chalmers, it is big collaborative effort involving at least 126 research groups from 17 European countries. Four Nobel Prize are among those involved.
The European Commission officially announced the two winners of the contest in Brussels on Monday, January 28.
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![Left: the University of Gothenburg (Johan Wingborg/University of Gothenburg)<br />Right: by Nicolago (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Note, this picture has no connection to steroid use.](http://www.goteborgdaily.se/upload/article/bild/3/539231/Steroid_story_s.jpg)
