Winners announced for the Eli & Britt Harari Graphene Enterprise Award 2024

The Masood Entrepreneurship Centre (MEC) is pleased to announce the winners of the Eli & Britt Harari Graphene Enterprise Award 2024.

This prestigious award is designed to support students, postdoctoral researchers, recent graduates, and encourage new student cohorts to engage with MEC, in launching new businesses that involve graphene or other 2D materials. It’s all about sparking innovation and making a real impact in the commercial world, turning groundbreaking research into real, game-changing solutions for the future.

With awards of £50,000 and £20,000, we’re excited to celebrate the individuals or teams who showed how their graphene-related technology can be turned into a business. The applications were judged based on how solid their plans were for creating a new business related to graphene or 2D materials.

This award gives winners the perfect launchpad they need to kickstart their business. The University of Manchester understands how crucial flexible early-stage financial support is for these kinds of ventures, to help make these dreams a reality and bring a product or technology to the market.

This year, the top prize of £50,000 went to Kun Huang of Solar Ethos. Kun has a Master’s degree in Corrosion Control Engineering and a PhD in Material Physics. The second prize of £20,000 was awarded to Hafiza Hifza Nawaz of Fabstics, who has a PhD in Materials. We also congratulate the other finalists - Mohammadhossein Saberian of EcoTarTech and Ozan Zehni of Dorlion SHM.

The winners, pictured above with Deputy Vice-Chancellor & Deputy President Luke Georghiou:

• Left: First place - Solar Ethos
• Right: Second place - Fabstics

All finalists received support throughout the competition, which included: pitching workshops, help with applications by Scott Dean (CEO of Graphene Trace), and IP advice from Innovation Factory. These resources were key in helping them navigate the challenges of starting a business and turning their groundbreaking ideas into real-world solutions.

Our top-tier judges included Professor Luke Georghiou, Deputy President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Manchester; Lynn Sheppard, Masood Entrepreneurship Centre Director; Jessica McCreadie, Investment Director at Northern Gritstone; James Baker, CEO Graphene @Manchester at The University of Manchester; and Gareth Jones, Project Manager - Electronics at the University of Manchester Innovation Factory. Their expertise and dedication to encouraging innovation played a key role in choosing projects that could make a big difference.

We offer a huge congratulations to all the participants! We can’t wait to see the fantastic impact of their innovative work in the commercial world. By supporting these entrepreneurs, we're not only helping them achieve their dreams but also paving the way for future advancements that can tackle some of the world's most pressing challenges.

Along with the awards, we heard inspiring speeches from high-profile individuals such as Lynn Sheppard, Professor James Baker, Dr. Vivek Koncherry, Liam Johnson, and Professor Luke Georghiou. They shared amazing insights about graphene and other 2D materials, emphasising the transformative potential of these technologies and the importance of ongoing innovation. We were also joined via Zoom from California by Dr. Eli Harari, founder of SanDisk, the memory storage technology company. He encouraged attendees to "Think Big!".

Eli & Britt Harari Award 2021 winner Dr. Vivek Koncherry, the CEO of Graphene Innovations Manchester, is making significant strides in connecting graphene technology with global business opportunities. Last year, he signed a $1 billion partnership with Quazar Investment Company to create a new company in the UAE aimed at tackling global sustainability challenges. Recognised as Manchester's answer to Elon Musk, Vivek recently impressed judges to win the North West heat of KPMG’s Tech Innovator in the UK 2024. With a strong background as an alumnus and researcher from The University of Manchester, Vivek exemplifies the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation.

Some notable quotes about the competition include Lynn Sheppard's encouragement, "For all the winners and nominees, your journey does not stop here, it goes on," and Prof. James Baker's insight, "Graphene can make a big difference in addressing the climate change challenges." Dr. Vivek Koncherry highlighted Manchester's entrepreneurial spirit by stating, "Manchester is very good for entrepreneurship," while Dr. Eli Harari inspired with, "We need people like you to aspire in making the world better." Liam Johnson appreciated the award's impact, saying, "The award allowed me to turn this idea to something tangible," and Prof. Luke Georghiou emphasised the importance of support with, "It's our duty to build an ecosystem to support the development of graphene."

Their words emphasised the event's theme of driving change and shaping a brighter future through cutting-edge research and entrepreneurship, wrapping up the event on an exhilarating high.