Innovate UK, the government's innovation agency, together with the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) are seeking to stimulate exploitation of the high-performance material graphene by investing £2.5 million in feasibility studies.

Businesses can apply for a share of the money to carry out studies into the use of graphene or other related two-dimensional carbon-based materials in specific industrial applications.

Graphene was discovered in the UK and has extraordinary properties. It is extremely thin, is one of the strongest materials known to science and has excellent electrical and thermal conductivity.

The UK government is investing £50 million in developing the commercial applications of graphene.The material is of key interest to the water sector – one of its potential applications is its use in the desalination of sea water to meet growing global demand for potable water and water for use in agriculture.

In 2013 US-based Lockheed Martin was awarded a patent for its Perforene™ material, a molecular filtration solution which works by removing sodium, chlorine and other ions from sea water and other sources. The patent is seen as a further step on the path to developing affordable water desalination.

Graphene has also been flagged up as having the potential to revolutionise wastewater treatment and to clean up contaminated groundwater

The new competition will support projects that assess the feasibility of graphene bringing two or more benefits in industrial applications including structural, electrical, optical, thermal, selective permeability, ease/speed of manufacture, ease of use, durability and flexibility.

The competition for feasibility studies opens on 21 September 2015, and the deadline for registration is noon on 28 October 2015. Projects must be led by a business and include a partner with a future route to market and are expected to range in size from total costs of £100,000 to £250,000 and to last 6 to 12 months.

Small businesses could receive up to 70% of their costs, medium-sized businesses 60% and large businesses 50%.

A briefing event for potential applicants will be held in London on 23 September 2015, and consortium-building workshops will be held around the country in September and October.

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