Work with us

Tier 1 Partners are likely to be companies with interests in multiple application areas. This is our most comprehensive membership package, providing access to a wide range of specialist resources.

The benefits of being a Tier 1 Partner of the GEIC include:

• A dedicated 9m x 7m laboratory
• Access to unique application labs and specialist equipment
• A minimum of £100k of membership fee allocated to project activity
• Access to the academic network
• Early sight of UoM IP for potential licensing opportunities
• A seat on the Technology Advisory Board, offering insight into the strategic direction of graphene applications and input into future equipment and strategy
• Dedicated office space and use of hot desks
• Strategic, proactive PR and communications support and direction from leadership
• Opportunity to leverage our network of Affiliate Partners.
• At least £112,500, from the annual fee, is allocated to project activity.

Typical membership fees are £225k+VAT per annum, with a minimum commitment of three years; at least 50% of this fee is allocated to specific project work determined by each partner.

Read the full schedule of benefits (PDF download 2.1Mb) and please contact our graphene business development team for further information about the benefits of becoming a Tier 1 Partner.

Tier 2 Partners will typically be medium and larger SMEs and divisions of multinational companies with interests in a single application area for a narrow range of products and/or services.

Tier 2 membership can start with a single, short, rapid feasibility study (Pathfinder Project) to allow companies to explore the potential benefits of using graphene in their business or products. It is designed to provide immediate answers to prove feasibility or fail quickly, or continue with a project concept to a larger follow-on project in the GEIC or NGI. A Pathfinder usually ranges in cost from £10k to £25k.

After the initial Pathfinder Project, Tier 2 membership allows companies to undertake a series of follow-on projects under a single framework agreement that includes:

• Access to all GEIC application areas and all specialist equipment within that area.
• £40,000 allocated to project activity, equipment and space (subject to lab use).
• Preferential pricing for membership project activities.
• Access to GEIC academics and GEIC core team.
• Hot desk and laboratory space.
• Access to meeting rooms and conference space.
• Representation on the Technology Advisory Board.
• £5,000 annual GEIC membership fee.

The T2 Membership annual fee starts at £45,000 (exc. VAT), with at least 50% allocated to collaborative project activity. Tier 2 Membership is up to 12 months. Partners can top up their membership for further project activity.

Read the full schedule of benefits (PDF download 2.1Mb) and please contact the graphene business development team for further information about the benefits of becoming a Tier 2 Partner.

Affiliate Partnerships are suitable for any service company that can create value for the next generation of products and processes emerging from the GEIC. Typical companies might include: business support and enabling services, such as lawyers, accountants, IP specialists, web designers, marketing, business development, entrepreneurs, mentors, supporting engineers (eg: mechanical, software, electronic, CAD, modelling) and product designers.

• The benefits of being an Affiliate Partner include: 
• Be part of a thriving community of research and commercialisation activities.
• Business opportunities for partnerships, engagements and collaborations with the GEIC’s user community.
• Opportunity to host seminars/workshops for other tenants and partner companies engaged in graphene commercialisation.
• Embedded with early stage, high growth companies developing new products and processes with 2D materials.
• Open plan desk space (with superfast Wi-Fi access).
• Use of shared conference, training rooms and other facilities.

Contact us for more information.

If you have a company with a product for an defined market application, which can be scaled up using existing technology, the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) might be the place to grow your business idea.

We offer an environment for you to expand your business, with access to a shared lab, world-leading equipment in an industrial environment, as well as a comprehensive suite of characterisation facilities.

GEIC provides start-ups with the ecosystem of professional support and expertise to enable you to scale up and refine your product/process to the next stage of your development, featuring end-users, product and application developers, material suppliers and scale-ups, from SMEs and start-ups to large corporates and multinationals.

It is important to note that GEIC is not an incubator and it is a requirement for all companies to undertake collaborative projects with us.

Examples of companies that are working with the GEIC include:

AEH Innovative Hydrogel

An agri-tech business founded by Beenish Siddique, which secured £1m of Innovate UK funding and subsequently £3.5m of funding from industry to develop a unique hydrogel product that saves water, energy and cost in the indoor farming sector.
aehinnovativehydrogel.com

Molymem

Developers of a pioneering membrane technology using 2D material molybedenum disulphide (MoS2). Molymem membranes can be used for finely tuned filtration in industrial processing and are highly resistant to fouling and corrosion.
molymem.com

Graphene Innovations Manchester

GIIM is developing a range of high-performance products - from recycled rubber mats to pressure vessels and next-generation space habitats - based on graphene-enhanced composite materials and advanced manufacturing technology, robotics and AI.
grapheneinnovationsinc.com

Further information on GEIC membership can be found through these links: Tier 1 (PDF download 2.1Mb); Tier 2 (PDF download 2.1Mb)

Specific grant support for graphene start-ups is available through our Bridging the Gap scheme and the annual Eli and Britt Harari Graphene Enterprise Award.