A local high-tech manufacturing firm has struck a commercial patent licensing deal with the University of Wollongong to commercialise the production of graphene -- a clear sheet material that's just one atom thick and made 100 per cent from carbon.

Working together with the university's Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF), NanoCarbon plans to build its own graphene production plant in Sydney next year and is already negotiating supply deals with savvy manufacturers across the globe who want to gain an edge in product innovation.

Graphene production typically relies on graphite as its precursor raw material and has the potentially revolutionary features of being stronger than diamond, more conductive than copper and more flexible than rubber.

NanoCarbon's license covers the patented manufacturing processes for "surfactant free graphene dispersions" which can be transferred from water to organic solvent-based systems, allowing for customised production of graphene.

Some of the products NanoCarbon believes the material can revolutionise the manafacture of include high-barrier films, lithium ion batteries and water purification technologies.

The company will continue further R&D with the help of world-leading researchers at ANFF and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES).

The deal will come as welcome news to organisations such as the Manufacturing Excellence Taskforce Australia that have long argued high-tech, niche manufacturing will drive Australia's future growth in the sector.

NanoCarbon chief executive Chris Gilbey said the graphene research and production team would help make manufacturing "cleaner and greener and more profitable for us and our partners and the community".

“We are going to focus on delivering solutions to a select group of high-performance advanced manufacturing partners in key industrial sectors," Mr Gilbey said.

"We believe that it is still early enough in the game for a newcomer in graphene manufacturing to become a global player."

Mr Gilbey was former chief executive of Lake Technology. NanoCarbon's directors include venture capital firm Allen & Buckeridge co-founder Roger Buckeridge and founder of ASX-listed Direct Nickel, Julian Malnic.