New Delhi: LOHUM, India’s largest diversified producer of sustainable critical minerals and advanced materials, today announced that Nobel Laureate Professor Sir Konstantin ‘Kostya’ Novoselov has been appointed Chief Scientist of the company’s new deep-tech incubation and venture platform for advanced materials.
The platform takes materials science from early research (TRL 1–4) to commercial readiness (TRL 7–8). LOHUM will provide the capital, infrastructure, and strategic oversight for the platform, and will commercialise the resulting intellectual property and returns through a Central Funding Hub.
Sir Novoselov shared the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics with Sir Andre Geim for pioneering experiments on graphene, work that anchors the platform’s Nanomaterials and 2D Structures sector. His role at the LOHUM incubator is structured through a joint venture model, which draws his expertise into the running of the portfolio aimed at long-term commercial outcomes.
Rajat Verma, Founder & CEO, LOHUM, said, “India has world-class science and a growing industrial base. What we need now is the bridge between the two. With Sir Kostya Novoselov leading our incubation platform, we are building that bridge for advanced materials, from the lab to the factory floor, for a dynamic range of emerging technologies.” .
Professor Sir Konstantin ‘Kostya’ Novoselov, Chief Scientist, LOHUM, said, “Many of the most important advances in materials science, graphene among them, begin as laboratory curiosities. The hard part is carrying them across the so called “”valley of death” to the real products in the market. It is mandatory to close this gap between the discovery and the applications. Successful implementations of the right strategies that can turn discoveries into industrial capabilities will shape the next generation of technologies. It is essential to create a platform that pairs rigorous R&D with industrial capital and manufacturing at scale. That is the reason why I will be very happy to combine my expertise in fundamental research with LOHUM’s established technological model to achieve quick translation of advanced materials from lab-to-market.”
The platform’s focus sectors are currently being assessed and will likely include Strategic & Critical Minerals, Nanomaterials & 2D Structures, and Advanced Magnetic Materials, among other emerging next-gen technologies. The full list of focus sectors will be announced upon finalisation by the incubation platform team.
The announcement reflects the growing importance of collaboration between industry, academia and leading scientists as India expands its domestic capabilities in strategic materials, batteries and clean-energy infrastructure, in support of Viksit Bharat 2047
