The Genoa-based deeptech scaleup aims to secure new resources to lead the two-dimensional materials revolution, co-founder and Vittorio Pellegrini said to BeBeez
Article published in BeBeez Magazine no. 33 on June 28, 2025
by Stefania Peveraro
“We will open a new round to raise tens of millions of euros in early 2026 to finance our strategy in a market that did not exist until now”, Vittorio Pellegrini, ceo of BeDimensional, said in and exclusive interview to BeBeez Live, BeBeez’s web TV channel (see the video of the interview here). The Genoa-based deeptech scaleup that produces graphene and other two-dimensional crystals was founded in 2016 as a spin-off of Graphene Labs of the Italian Institute of Technology and had raised EUR35 million in equity since then from venture capital investors plus other EUR20 million in venture debt by the European Investment Bank (see here a previous article by BeBeez). Now the company is preparing for a new round of fundraising, “for which we are aiming for at least EUR20 million,” Mr. Pellegrini specified. Here is what emerged from the full conversation, also adding some details emerged aside the video recording.
Click here to see the interview.
From left, Vittorio Pellegrini, co-founder BeDimensional,
and Stefania Peveraro, BeBeez’s editor in chief
Question. What is graphene and why is it such an innovative material? What are its applications?
Answer. Graphene is an extraordinary material because it is two-dimensional. It is a two-dimensional crystal, a sheet of matter, the thinnest material in the world. And what is even more extraordinary is that it is derived from graphite, which is a common material. Graphite is like a book made up of billions of pages, and graphene is a single page. The thickness of this page is equal to a carbon atom. Until a few years ago, no one had managed to transform this book into individual pages. The first people to succeed in doing so through their research won the Nobel Prize. After about 10 years of research both in Italy and abroad, we invented a scalable production method and then demonstrated that we are able to produce it in large quantities using a process that is non-polluting and low-cost. When the crystal, graphite, transforms from three-dimensional to two-dimensional, it acquires extraordinary properties such as electrical and thermal conductivity, barrier effect, and mechanical resistance. Graphene is just the progenitor of a new family of two-dimensional materials: extremely thin structures similar to graphene in shape but composed of different atoms. While graphene is made up exclusively of carbon atoms, other 2D materials are made up of different elements. For example, two-dimensional boron nitride is a sheet of material composed of nitrogen and boron. Also with a hexagonal geometry, this mesh, this veil of matter, being two-dimensional, offers properties similar to graphene and, in some cases, complementary. So today we are facing a real revolution in materials, whose applications are almost endless. In a sense, we are making matter lighter and more powerful at the same time: a concept that is difficult to visualize, but one that opens up enormous commercial prospects, already recognized globally. It is a silent revolution, destined to transform entire industrial sectors.
Q. You founded the company together with two other partners. Can you tell us about your background and how you met?
A. I founded the company together with Francesco Bonaccorso, who was in some ways the person who developed the first ingredients of this technology for producing graphene, and Andrea Gamucci, who joined me first in a research project that lasted many years, then we decided to leave the world of research and embrace the world of entrepreneurship. I worked at many universities around the world, then in 2013, together with Roberto Cingolani, we founded the graphene center at the Italian Institute of Technology, dedicated to these two-dimensional materials. There, I called Francesco, Andrea and many other researchers. The idea came out, which then became a patent, and finally Bedimensional was born. In 2020, we broke away from the parent company and became a fully-fledged company.
Q. After that, growth was accompanied by a series of investments in both equity and debt. Among the investors, I remember EniNext, CDP Venture Capital sgr, Eureka sgr, Nova Capital (Paolo Merloni’s investment holding company), and Pellan Italia by Achille Costamagna and C. sapa (see here a previous article by BeBeez). And then last year there was the latest round of venture debt worth 20 million with the European Investment Bank. Has there been any other fundraising? Do you foresee another round?
A. Yes, in total we have already raised EUR 35 million in equity. In addition, as mentioned, we managed to attract the interest of the EIB with EUR20 million in venture debt. We then raised a EUR5 million round linked to the EIB’s venture debt, which was subscribed by existing investors and some new investors, such as Stefano Drago, managing partner of the pan-European private equity firm PAI Partners, and BluAcquario, the investment holding company of the Boroli Drago family (the owners of the De Agostini Group, ed note). At the same time, we have also followed a path with the government agency Invitalia, which we consider very important. We are now using all these resources to finance industrial development, namely a new plant with an initial capacity of almost 40 tons per year. We are also directing our commercial efforts towards application sectors related to the energy transition, i.e., the application of these two-dimensional materials in the lithium-ion battery sector. One of the main applications is, in fact, the improvement of battery performance, both in terms of life and charging speed, a result that we have already demonstrated in partnership with VARTA.
Q. You not only develop applications for this product, but you also manufacture it. Where? How are you organized? Is there already a market for such a new product? Are you generating revenue?
A. Yes, we already have a production plant in Genoa with a certain capacity and we are already generating revenue: this year we expect to reach over EUR2 million, but we are not yet at break-even because we are still investing heavily to support our industrial and commercial expansion strategy. It should be remembered that the market for two-dimensional crystals does not yet exist. One of the key elements in expanding the market is to demonstrate that two-dimensional crystals, such as graphene, can be produced in large quantities, of the right quality (i.e., with atomic thickness) and at costs that the market can absorb. We need to demonstrate adequate production capacity and great reliability in the production of these materials, because the material enters a very complex supply chain such as that of batteries or lubricants. It is therefore essential that the quality of the crystals is reproducible and on an industrial scale. Today, many claim to produce graphene, but actually doing so and producing low-cost crystalline sheets of atomic thickness remains a phenomenal challenge. We can demonstrate, with data, that we have the right technology.
Q. Can you give us some examples of customers you already have?
A. We are working with several world-leading companies in the automotive sector on a new type of high-performance lubricant, thanks to the addition of graphene. This application is the result of over three years of R&D, culminating in certification of extraordinary performance. Similarly, we have several customers in the construction industry who are using a paint that contains a very small amount of graphene and is capable of conducting energy and therefore generating heat, with innovative applications inside and outside buildings. Finally, some well-known brands in the fashion industry have introduced our graphene into fabrics to improve their heat management capabilities.
Q. Will you be raising further funds to continue financing this growth? Can you give us any previews?
A. Yes, we plan to open a new round of investment in early 2026 to raise tens of millions, which will allow us to take another step forward in this scale that we must build step by step in order to stimulate market growth and be key players in it.
