Lohum appoints Nobel Laureate to lead advanced materials incubation platform

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The platform aims to advance materials science from early-stage research (TRL 1–4) to commercial readiness (TRL 7–8)

By BL New Delhi Bureau

Updated - October 28, 2026 at 08:09 PM.

Professor Sir Konstantin ‘Kostya’ Novoselov, Chief Scientist, LOHUM (left) and Rajat Verma, Founder & CEO, LOHUM

Lohum has appointed Nobel Laureate Konstantin ‘Kostya’ Novoselov as the Chief Scientist of the critical minerals and advanced materials producer’s new deep-tech incubation and venture platform for advanced materials.

“The path from a laboratory discovery in advanced materials to a market-ready product is where promising science often stalls. Early research (TRL 1–4) frequently remains within academic or preliminary laboratory settings, while commercial value is created only once technologies are demonstrably viable and ready for industrial scaling (TRL 7–8),” Lohum founder & CEO Rajat Verma told businessline.

The platform aims to advance materials science from early-stage research (TRL 1–4) to commercial readiness (TRL 7–8). Lohum will provide capital, infrastructure and strategic oversight, and commercialise the resulting intellectual property and returns through a Central Funding Hub, he added.

Novoselov’s role at the Lohum incubator is structured through a joint venture model, bringing his expertise to the management of a portfolio focused on long-term commercial outcomes. He shared the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics with Andre Geim for experiments on graphene, work that underpins the platform’s Nanomaterials and 2D Structures sector.

“Many of the most important advances in materials science, graphene among them, began 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 applications,” Novoselov emphasised.

The right strategies that successfully 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, he added.

“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,” Novoselov said.

The platform is assessing its focus sectors, which are likely to include strategic and critical minerals, nanomaterials and 2D structures, and advanced magnetic materials, among other emerging technologies. The full list will be announced once finalised by the incubation platform team.

“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,” Verma emphasized.

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.

Published on October 28, 2026

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