How often do we see βnews from the futureβ in the media, in which the planned successes of science for the benefit of the national economy of the country are proudly announced? Often in the comments to such messages and reports one can find skepticism and calls to write only about past events. We believe little in bright and inspiring plans.
Well, this kind of publications in the domestic information field is not unique. It is not so difficult to come across "their" announcements of New Vasyukov.
I propose to trace the fate of a technological project that has made a splash not only in the West, but has also reached the Russian-language media. If you play bullshit bingo, then I will give you a hint before the kata - graphene.
When and what was promised
In March 2019, English-language media, mainly British, spread . CEO and co-founder Simon Thomas was optimistic about the massive advances in graphene production. According to him, In 200, by Cambridge professor Sir Colin Humphreys, Paragraf was able to establish a stable process for the production of graphene in the form of disks with a diameter of up to XNUMX mm.
Based on many years of research and years spent on setting up the technical process, Simon promised to begin industrial production of devices using graphene within the next two months.
What preceded the promise
Of course, such unusual technologies cannot appear out of thin air. After all, giants such as IBM, Intel, Samsung, and many other groups are working on the problem of industrial production of graphene. It is hardly possible and necessary to outrun them in stealth mode. Therefore, we can find traces of their previous activities.
In the company 2017 Β£3 million including government money. These funds were intended to develop prototypes and improve the technology (remember, the company was founded in 2015, and the research that made the commercialization stage relevant was carried out even earlier).
In May 2018 the company financing. This time, its size was Β£2,9 million, and among the investors were not only venture capital companies, but also the Cambridge enterprise fund. Now it was no longer about the refinement of technology. The purpose of the investment is to open a production site to start manufacturing devices based on their graphene. It was planned to start with supersensitive magnetic field sensors and other sensors intended for the mass market.
Almost a year later, in March 2019, a statement followed that everything was ready and set up. Literally, just about, in a couple of months, graphene-based devices will begin to be mass-produced, enter the market, and a new era will begin. This high-profile news, with designated (albeit streamlined) terms, was received favorably and reached our domestic reader.
What Really Happened and Didn't Happen After the Hype
The astute reader could guess what happened after all the noise and media attention. Well, I'll tell the rest. paragraph from the same investment funds, having already received Β£12,8 million at their disposal. True, this happened already in July 2019, 4 months after the hype. In the same month, a startup (as far as a 4-year-old company can be called a startup) was Β£0,5 million for cutting-edge developments.
What has not happened since then is the promised revolution and the start of mass production. Already 8 and a half months have passed from the promise to start mass production within 2-3 months, but the declared sensors and sensors (with a sensitivity 30 times higher than those used) have not arrived on the market.
The first 5 pages of Google search and the "News" tab give only the initial loud statements about the readiness to begin commercial production of graphene-based devices in the "next few months" of March 2019, as well as the July news of a Β£12,8 million investment.
No information about the actual launch of any production or the supply of components for a third-party manufacturer can be found. Moreover, the company's website has ceased to function, although in September the media referred to it.
Current status
The company has received funding since 2017 for at least Β£19,2 million (1,6 billion rubles at the current exchange rate). In September 2019, the company's team included 25 researchers (in March there were 16), and, judging by the founder's words, they are still developing and preparing to start production of miracle magnetic field sensors and other sensors. In September, the latest news about them ends. is no longer functioningupd. accessible via vpn).
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Source: habr.com