- Three-way collaboration between Inovartic, Abu Dhabi University and SLINTEC to generate export income to Sri Lanka
- SLINTEC Lab in Abu Dhabi expands its global footprint in innovation.
Colombo, Sri Lanka, January 2025 – The Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC) recently unveiled a revolutionary development and delivery of a groundbreaking oil-absorbing material based on graphene, designed to tackle large-scale oil spills with unprecedented efficiency. Developed in Sri Lanka and now set to be deployed in collaboration with Inovartic of UAE and a major oil services company in the UAE, this innovation marks a significant milestone in sustainable marine environmental protection.
The global ocean cleaning industry is valued at a staggering US$ 172 billion, driven by the increasing need to address large-scale oil spills and their devastating environmental impact. Traditional oil spill cleaning technologies primarily rely on materials such as polyurethane – a synthetic polymer. While somewhat effective, these materials pose significant environmental risks. Graphene, renowned for its extraordinary properties, such as high surface area and exceptional strength, has been tailored by SLINTEC scientists to create a material that not only absorbs oil efficiently but also addresses the shortcomings of current solutions.
This pioneering technology by SLINTEC is reusable, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly, ensuring no negative impact on marine life. With its superior oil absorption capabilities, this breakthrough solution is a highly effective tool to address the severe consequences of oil spills, establishing a new benchmark for environmental protection and safety.
SLINTEC’s innovation stems from the utilisation of Sri Lanka’s premium graphite resources, renowned for their high quality. Commenting on SLINTEC’s latest innovation, CEO, SLINTEC – Dr. Thushara Perera stated: “We are proud to see our innovation recognised and embraced on a global scale. This agreement signifies the transformative power of partnerships in creating impactful solutions. This partnership with Inovartic Investments will help SLINTEC to support grassroots-level innovators in Sri Lanka, supporting the new Government’s plan to foster innovation into productive outcomes and partnerships to enter global markets.”
Thilan Wijesinghe, Chairman of SLINTEC since 2022, stated “With the proposed establishment of the Graphene Centre at the Abu Dhabi University (ADU) Innovation Centre, SLINTEC will enhance its capabilities of taking its robust pipeline of graphite-based innovations to the global market and earn export income from technology transfer fees, royalty and dividends”. The recent signing of the oil spill technology transfer agreement between Mr. Wijesinghe and Mr. Saif Aldarmaki, Chairman of Inovartic is the beginning of a long-term collaboration to commercialize SLINTEC innovations within a global stage. Concluding, Thilan noted: “Abu Dhabi today provides a great ecosystem for taking innovations to the world with access to risk capital, linkages with global companies in the UAE and elsewhere and infrastructure.”
Building on this success, SLINTEC plans to further cement its position as a leader in graphene-based technologies. The institute is actively developing a range of advanced graphite-based products, including applications in batteries, sensors, and energy solutions.
