UIC partners with faculty startup to advance scalable graphene production for industry
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Graphene, a one-atom-thick form of carbon known for its exceptional strength and electrical conductivity, has long been viewed as a transformative material for industries ranging from energy storage to infrastructure. However, producing high-quality graphene at industrial scale and low cost remains one of the field’s most significant challenges.
Grapherry, a Chicago-based startup founded by Vikas Berry, professor of chemical engineering, is addressing the key barriers in the graphene industry by upcycling carbon waste, such as biosolids from wastewater treatment plants and biochar from agricultural waste, into high-quality graphene and graphene oxide.
Earning multiple grants in 2025, the company is pursuing research on incorporating graphene into applications in energy, construction, agriculture, and advanced composite applications. One such grant enabling this research is the Illinois Innovation Voucher Program, which fuels collaboration between companies and Illinois’ top higher education initiatives.
Partnering with UIC, Berry and his team at Grapherry, including multiple UIC chemical engineering students, are testing the quality of the graphene produced at Grapherry for application-specific properties such as electrical conductivity and structural characteristics.
“Direct exposure to startup activities is an opportunity for students to experience a very fast-paced environment,” Berry said. “Students learn how to address real-world challenges in process scale-up, materials engineering, and product development.”
Berry, who is also the faculty lead for the ICORP program at UIC, added that the students gain hands-on experience in materials synthesis, process engineering, testing, and design.
“UIC is an important part of Chicago’s startup ecosystem,” he said. “Collaborations between faculty-founded startups and the university help strengthen Chicago’s innovation ecosystem and provide students with industry-relevant experience.”
In October 2025, Grapherry was selected as one of seven startups from more than 300 applicants for the Sustainable Water Tech Accelerator cohort at mHub, a leading hard-tech and manufacturing innovation center in Chicago. This cohort is co-sponsored by Current, a nonprofit water innovation hub and the lead organization of the National Science Foundation’s Great Lakes RENEW Engine.
“Mentorship received from the cohort activities has strengthened our scale-up approach and helped us form partnerships critical to industrializing graphene,” Berry said. “Our work focuses on converting carbon-rich waste into high-performance materials, while reducing environmental impact and enabling scalable manufacturing.”
Along with their many industrial partnerships in the realms of batteries and cement research, Grapherry is evaluating the potential of graphene to improve performance metrics such as electrical conductivity, durability, and performance efficiency.
Grapherry is currently conducting three pilot projects with customers: one with a construction company and two with battery electrode companies. The company is working with partners, including Argonne National Laboratory, to study how graphene enhances battery performance, cement/asphalt’s strength, and conductivity in polymer composites.
“Our main goal is to work closely with industry partners to understand critical needs and pathways for incorporation of graphene into commercial products,” said Roshan Nemade, UIC Chemical Engineering Department visiting research assistant professor and Grapherry CTO. “We are now working on scaling up the process.”
Founded in 2024, Grapherry derives its name from a combination of “graphene” and “refinery or foundry,” reflecting the company’s focus on engineering scalable manufacturing systems for advanced carbon materials.
Grapherry’s leadership includes Namrita Berry as president and its advisory board includes Said Al Hallaj, adjunct professor at UIC. UIC Chemical Engineering undergraduate students Khoa Nguyen, Aadi Chipalkatti, and UIC Mechanical Engineering student Nehemiah Shannon act as the process/product engineers.