(Yicai Global) Sept. 28 -- Rongyu Group Co. [SHE:002622], an electric equipment manufacturer based in northeast China's Jilin province, has teamed up with a Beijing-based graphene technology developer to promote the material's applications in the electric and automotive sectors.

Rongyu struck the deal with Beijing Carbon Century Technology Co. yesterday, the listed company said in a statement. The pair will set up a joint venture and an automotive business incubator to kick off research into industrial applications of graphene technology.

The initiatives will also involve investing in startup firms.

Carbon Century, founded in 2007, has developed four graphene technologies and products with excellent commercialization prospects, including a method of mass production, graphene-based conversion of light to kinetic energy, an engine oil energy efficiency modifier and a graphene lithium battery.

Rongyu Group specializes in the manufacture of permanent magnet switches and other electrical devices. The new partnership will help improve the technical content of its products, the group said. It also has an auto sales subsidiary, which will supply market data to ensure successful application of the graphene technologies to the automotive industry.

Graphene is a monolayer sheet of graphite and the hardest-known material to boast high electrical and thermal conductivity. It has enormous commercial potential and excellent development prospects, the statement added.