The Nikkei says that Osaka Gas has found a way to produce graphene at half the cost of conventional means.

Whereas graphene is usually made by connecting carbon atoms from gas containing carbon in a vacuum, Osaka Gas produces graphene by colliding  graphite at high-speed with substances like coal-based fluorene and water.

Graphene produced in the conventional way costs $160 a kilogram.

Another way to produce $80-per-kilo has been developed by the University of Tokyo which  makes graphene by exfoliating graphite using microwaves.

The university is licensing the process to the Japanese chemical company Adeka which plans to be production in 2020