Alpha, Somerset NJ, leading maker of electronic bonding materials, announced a collaborative partnership with the National Graphene Institute (NGI) at The University of Manchester to develop next generation graphene-based electronic materials for the electronics assembly & packaging, as well as for the energy and power market segments.

The collaboration is a multi-year effort and focuses on how to utilize these innovative soldering materials in applications where components must meet higher connectivity, mobility and sustainability requirements. Graphene-based materials provide significant improvement in thermo-mechanical reliability that are particularly useful in the energy and power industries.

“Alpha is very excited and proud to be a part of this groundbreaking institution”, says Alpha president Richard Ertmann. “As a key contributor and collaborator, we look forward to the many innovative and new technologies and applications for Graphene in our products and marketplaces. Alpha is very thankful to The University of Manchester for this opportunity to work closely with their highly respected and creative scientists and technicians.”

NGI chose Alpha as a partner because of their long-term commitment to product development. “We look forward to working with Alpha on this exciting new project”, adds James Baker, graphene business director at The University of Manchester. “This collaboration and partnership is another significant step forward to realizing the next generation of graphene-based electronic materials and Alpha are a welcome addition to our ever expanding partnerships with industry. Since the opening of the £61m National Graphene Institute we are now seeing a significant acceleration in engagement with industry and an increasing number of industry partners now working on graphene projects. With the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre, which will be completed in 2017 also located in Manchester, the University of Manchester continues to play a leading role in the commercialization of graphene”.