How graphene is revolutionising the microchip industry with help from the UAE

A British company building a revolutionary new microchip will double its output by building a $150 million factory in Abu Dhabi with the assistance of the Mubadala sovereign wealth fund, The National can disclose.

The potential for Paragraf’s new graphene chips to boost people’s lives varies from being able to diagnose a heart attack a week in advance to keeping satellites in space beyond their current life cycles.

That could help propel the company to become the equivalent of giant semiconductor maker TSMC, which generates 18 per cent of Taiwan’s GDP, said Simon Thomas, Paragraf’s founder.

“I have a high bar to hit, but that's where we're going and what we're aiming for,” he told The National, speaking at Paragraf's headquarters in Cambridgeshire, in the UK.

Talent, energy and taxes

Graphene's uses as a semiconductor are immense and proven but the proposal needs the right financial backing to take off.

In Mubadala, Dr Thomas not only has sound investment but also access to the fund’s vast business knowledge and contacts, with the new plant to be built in Kezad Business District, Abu Dhabi, expected to double Paragraf’s microchip output in two years.

As well as the funding, a pool of international talent, low taxes and even lower electrical costs are set to contribute to a winning formula for the company.

As fuel prices rise sharply in Europe, Dr Thomas could reduce annual electricity costs from £500,000 ($657,140) at his Cambridgeshire factory to £100,000 in the UAE.

The key driver was a highly capable workforce, he said. “The UAE is a gateway for many countries, including India. There's a lot of very intelligent, highly trained, educated individuals that can't get visas in the UK but are absolutely exceptional candidates for what we want to do.”

Time up for silicon

That includes replacing silicon, the vital ingredient for the world’s semiconductors, which the scientist argues “is at the point of not being useful any more for new applications”, lacking efficiency and using too much power.

The future of semiconductors “is all about new materials” and, unlike silicon, graphene can withstand high temperatures, meaning energy demand is not so problematic.

Graphene is also a “hugely conductive material” that allows “you to have low power and high performance”, Dr Thomas said.

Paragraf is one of Britain’s most promising private technology businesses and has benefited from Mubadala contributing $35 million, giving it a 12.8 per cent stake in the company.

It will be the first global company to use graphene for quantum computing, electric vehicles, energy storage and chemical testing, as well as helping to develop new cancer drugs.

Heart attack detector

A graphene molecular sensor has become particularly important for medical diagnostics.

The device needs just one drop of blood and within 20 seconds it will give the patient the potassium level in their blood. “Why is that important?” says Dr Thomas. “About a week before you have a heart attack, potassium levels go up, so they can actually predict if you're going to have a problem.”

The chips can be used to detect many types of bacteria, viruses and blood conditions. Paragraf is now moving into oncology, with an announcement imminent on new technology detecting an early-stage cancer common in men.

Space chips

From human cells to outer space, the graphene chips seem to have limitless capabilities. Paragraf has qualified its graphene chips for a company that “really wants to use our technology in space” for satellites.

The unnamed company had spent “a lot of time, effort and money on qualifying our chip”. Radiation in outer space eventually kills off chips but graphene is “radiation tolerant”, Dr Thomas said.

“I believe that graphene is going to be the material for electronics in space because it's not affected by radiation at all,” he said.

Space is an area of keen interest for the Emirates and could be a reason for further investment in industrial pioneers. The British embassy’s director of investment in the UAE, Philip Harwood, told The National that Gulf countries were “passionate about innovation that contributes to long-term strategic objectives” and that UK companies “like Paragraf fit this brief perfectly”.