ICON LIFESAVER LIMITED

Their core work

ICON Lifesaver is a UK-based private company specializing in water purification technology, participating in the EU Graphene Flagship to explore advanced graphene and 2D materials for filtration and related applications. Across three H2020 projects, they contributed industry expertise to translating graphene research into practical products, particularly through pilot line development. Their role bridges the gap between fundamental materials science and commercial product development in the water and materials sectors.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early phase (2018), ICON Lifesaver engaged with the broad scope of the Graphene Flagship, touching composite materials, energy applications, electronics, photonics, sensors, and biomedical technologies through GrapheneCore2. By 2020, their focus narrowed sharply toward graphene pilot line development and 2D materials manufacturing (2D-EPL, GrapheneCore3), signaling a shift from exploratory research toward commercialization and scale-up. This trajectory suggests the company moved from evaluating multiple graphene application areas to committing to specific manufacturing pathways.

Moving decisively from research participation toward industrial-scale graphene manufacturing and product integration, positioning themselves for commercial graphene-based products.

How they like to work

ICON Lifesaver operates exclusively as a participant in very large flagship consortia — their 219 unique partners across 21 countries reflects the massive scale of the Graphene Flagship, not individual networking. They function as an industry end-user within these mega-projects, bringing application-oriented perspective to materials research. Working with them means engaging a company that knows how to operate within large, complex EU consortia and extract commercially relevant outcomes.

Connected to 219 partners across 21 countries, though this network is concentrated within the Graphene Flagship ecosystem rather than independently built. Their reach spans most of Europe through these flagship connections.

What sets them apart

ICON Lifesaver brings a rare industry end-user perspective to graphene research — most Graphene Flagship participants are universities or research institutes, making a product-oriented private company a valuable consortium member. Their background in water purification provides a concrete commercial application pathway for graphene membrane technologies. For consortium builders, they offer a credible route to market impact and industrial validation that funding agencies look for.

Highlights from their portfolio

• 2D-EPL
  Focused specifically on building an experimental pilot line for 2D materials, representing the closest step to industrial-scale graphene manufacturing in the Flagship.
• GrapheneCore3
  Received EUR 563,000 in EC funding — their largest funded involvement, in the final core phase of the billion-euro Graphene Flagship initiative.