Graphene Market in 2016

Graphene is widely regarded as the “wonder material” of the 21st century, and it’s not hard to see why. 
The material, which like diamonds and graphite is a crystalline allotrope of carbon, has many desirable characteristics. For instance, it’s both incredibly strong, as well as light and thin. It’s also a good conductor of heat and electricity, and is impermeable.
While that’s all positive, it’s important to note that there are negative aspects to graphene. One key drawback to the material is that it’s not widely used, largely because of its cost — though its price has come down since 2010, when it reportedly cost tens of thousands of dollars to make a piece of graphene the size of a postage stamp, it remains expensive.
The possibility of harnessing graphene’s exciting properties vs. the cost of doing so remained key themes in the graphene market in 2015. Here’s a brief overview of what happened in the space last year, plus a quick look at what may happen in the graphene market in 2016.

2015 graphene market trends

As mentioned, researchers continued to develop new uses for graphene in 2015. Indeed, at times it seemed new graphene discoveries were emerging on a daily basis.
It would be impossible to list all of the new graphene applications announced during the year, but a few include the creation of the first-ever superconducting graphene, the news that graphene could be used to help detoxify nuclear waste and the announcement that graphene could become a medical diagnostic tool.
While all of those are certainly exciting, such news can be frustrating for investors. That’s because it’s often difficult to invest in companies working with graphene. Much graphene research is completed at universities, not by companies, and many companies actually manufacturing graphene are private. And, as already noted, there simply are not a lot of applications for graphene.
Nevertheless, in 2015 investors continued to be interested in gaining a toehold in the graphene space. Take a look at our article on publicly traded graphene companies for an idea of how to do so; the piece also includes information on private graphene companies where it’s possible for investors to gain a stake.
Also consider looking at our article on companies that are not fully focused on graphene, but have expressed an interest in the material.

2016 graphene market outlook

2016 is a new year, but graphene-focused investors shouldn’t necessarily expect any big changes in the space — while a multitude of new applications for graphene will no doubt be introduced, there’s no guarantee that this will be the year that graphene makes its way into the mainstream.
That said, some are confident that the market is at least heading in the right direction. Case in point: in Benchmark Mineral Intelligence’s most recent publication, Simon Rees speaks encouragingly about graphene’s prospects, commenting that generally when new materials move beyond pilot production, they “seek out the easiest, most accessible entry points in a marketplace first.”
Continuing, he states, “[o]ften, this is as a displacement material for improving the performance of existing technology.” In his opinion, that’s definitely something graphene seems to be doing — his article lists a number places that graphene could potentially displace other materials, including paint and touchscreen technology.
Rees concludes, “even as a displacement material for established technologies … graphene is already on the cusp of becoming an integral, even ubiquitous, part of our lives.”
That’s certainly encouraging, but investors are understandably looking for hard numbers on when exactly they may benefit from graphene’s exciting characteristics. It’s tough to find that information, but various reports on the topic point to high levels of growth in the next decade.
For instance, one recent report states that the graphene market is expected to be valued at US$278.4 million by 2020, achieving a growth rate of 42.7 percent between 2015 and 2020. Meanwhile, another states that the graphene electronics market should expand at a compound annual growth rate of 60.7 percent until 2015, driven by new applications for the material.
All in all, it seems that — much like investors focused on more traditional commodities like gold and silver — in 2016, graphene investors will have to remain patient. Graphene will no doubt change the world eventually, but that time is likely to be less imminent than might be hoped.