Where Graphene Began Meets Where It Scales: Sino-British Competition Links Manchester and Ningbo

The overseas session of the Second Global Technology Innovation Competition's graphene track was held simultaneously at the University of Manchester - the birthplace of graphene - and in Ningbo's Zhenhai District, advancing international collaboration in advanced carbon materials.
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NINGBO, China / MANCHESTER, United Kingdom - September 30, 2026 - Fourteen overseas graphene and advanced carbon materials ventures pitched to a joint panel of experts on September 24, 2026, as the Second Global Technology Innovation Competition Graphene Special Session - the overseas round of the 2026 "Graphene Futures" China (Ningbo) Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition - took place simultaneously at the University of Manchester and in Zhenhai District, Ningbo, in eastern China's Zhejiang Province.

The choice of venue carried symbolic weight. It was at the University of Manchester in 2004 that Sir Andre Geim and Sir Konstantin Novoselov first isolated single-layer graphene, opening a new chapter in two-dimensional materials science and earning the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics. Bringing the competition to Manchester is both a tribute to the scientific origin of graphene and a signal of the field's shared commitment to international research collaboration.

For Ningbo's Zhenhai District, the event marks a deliberate strategy: connecting directly with the United Kingdom and wider Europe's innovation ecosystem to bring graphene technologies from the laboratory to industrial scale.

WHO IS BEHIND THE COMPETITION

The overseas session forms part of the 2026 Zhejiang Global Technology Innovation Competition. It is guided by the competition's organizing committee and hosted by the Zhenhai District People's Government of Ningbo and the Yongjiang Sci-Tech Innovation Zone Administration Office, with the Jiulonghu Town People's Government, the Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo (EIT), and the National Graphene Innovation Center (NGIC) serving as co-organizers.

Attendees at the Zhenhai venue included Li Yimin, Deputy Director of the Organization Department of the CPC Zhenhai District Committee and Executive Deputy Director of the District Talent Office; Guo Ying, Director of the Zhenhai District Bureau of Economy and Information Technology; Li Guanghui, Deputy Director of the Development and Cooperation Department of the Yongjiang Sci-Tech Innovation Zone Administration Office; and Liu Zhaoping, Director of the National Graphene Innovation Center and researcher at the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Representatives of the Jiulonghu Town People's Government and the Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo also attended.

THE ROADSHOW AND REVIEW

Recruiting from overseas markets, the session targeted startups and research teams working across the graphene and frontier carbon materials value chain - from fundamental materials preparation to commercialization in five priority application areas: new energy, electronic information, embodied intelligence, life sciences and health, and the low-altitude economy.

Based on the registration pool, organizers selected 14 overseas-background projects for the roadshow round. Nine teams presented at the Zhenhai venue or online, while five pitched on-site at the University of Manchester. The lineup ranged from graphene materials synthesis and processing to industrialization projects spanning multiple downstream sectors.

Seven expert judges drawn from frontier technology research, technology transfer, and commercial development evaluated the presentations. After an intensive round of pitches and Q&A exchanges, scores were tallied and a shortlist of advancing projects was confirmed. The successful teams will progress to the competition's final rounds, where they will compete for the event's awards.

A FULL LIFE CYCLE OF SUPPORT FOR FOUNDERS

Beyond prize money, the competition is a doorway into one of China's most concentrated graphene industrial ecosystems. Zhenhai is building on national-level advanced manufacturing clusters in green petrochemicals and new materials, anchored by the National Graphene Innovation Center - one of China's national-level manufacturing innovation platforms.

Officials emphasized that award-winning venture projects can receive dedicated entrepreneurship support, alongside settling-in allowances, housing subsidies, and a full life-cycle support framework covering startup funding, growth-stage cultivation, and dynamic tier upgrades.

"Graphene is widely recognized as the king of new materials - a frontier material driving the development of new quality productive forces, with broad application prospects," said Li Yimin. "Through this competition we aim to attract talent through competition and pool intelligence through competition. We warmly welcome overseas innovators to learn about Zhenhai, choose Zhenhai, and build here - so that talent finds life flavorful, careers rewarding, and entrepreneurship successful."

THE NATIONAL GRAPHENE INNOVATION CENTER'S ROLE

As a co-organizer, the National Graphene Innovation Center participated in the organization of the event from end to end. The center positions the overseas session as a key window linking British and European innovation resources with China's graphene industry, and as a platform for accelerating the translation of graphene research into commercial outcomes and industrial collaboration.

Looking ahead, the center said it will continue to deepen international science and technology cooperation, using competitions to attract talent and stimulate production, and to help more high-quality projects land in Ningbo and take root in Zhenhai - injecting fresh momentum into the high-quality development of the graphene industry.

About the 2026 "Graphene Futures" China (Ningbo) Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition

The competition is the graphene-focused track of the Global Technology Innovation Competition system in Zhejiang Province. Its overseas session recruits graphene and frontier carbon materials projects worldwide, with evaluation across fundamental preparation technologies and five application scenarios: new energy, electronic information, embodied intelligence, life sciences and health, and the low-altitude economy. Advancing projects proceed to the finals in China.

About the National Graphene Innovation Center

Based in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, the National Graphene Innovation Center is a national-level manufacturing innovation center dedicated to graphene and advanced carbon materials. It integrates research institutions, universities, and enterprises across the graphene value chain, supporting technology transfer, pilot-scale validation, and industrial-scale application.
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