Kochi, February 26 The first edition of the international conference and expo on Graphene and 2D Materials, 'GraphIN 2026', will be held here from March 9 to 12.
The four-day event is being positioned as a flagship platform for experts, industry leaders, and researchers to discuss the theme, "Pushing Materials Beyond Their Limits," according to a release here on Thursday.
The conference aims to help India take a leading role in next-generation materials research, particularly in graphene and other advanced 2D materials, it said.
Kerala has already taken the lead in this sector. It became the first state in the country to launch a dedicated Graphene Policy, with the goal of developing a strong innovation ecosystem and emerging as a global technology hub.
The conference is jointly organized by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, through the Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (C-MET), in collaboration with the PHANTOM Foundation, Spain, and the University of Manchester, UK, a global pioneer in graphene research.
The event is also supported by the India Innovation Centre for Graphene (IICG) and the Centre of Excellence in Intelligent IoT Sensors initiatives.
GraphIN 2026 is sponsored by leading graphene companies, including LOLC Advanced Technologies Pvt Ltd, Sri Lanka, TACC, Bhopal, Tata Steel Ltd, Jamshedpur, and Carborundum Universal Ltd, Kochi, etc, the release said.
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice. It is the thinnest and strongest material known in the universe.
Despite being only one atom thick, it is lighter than paper, stronger than steel, and an excellent conductor of electricity and heat. 2D materials are ultra-thin substances that exhibit extraordinary electrical, mechanical, and optical properties, promising a bright future in electronics and materials technology, said R Ratheesh, Director General, C-MET.
Also, many leading experts in 2D materials research, such as Prof Kostya Novoselov, Nobel Prize winner in Graphene, Prof Pulickel Ajayan, Prof Andrea Ferrari, University of Cambridge, UK, etc, will be addressing at GraphIN 2026, the release said.