There are only a few existing methods for manufacturing graphene, all of which are not capable of industrial-scale production and certainly not capable of driving industrial applications such as batteries, reinforced composites, and ITO glass.

None of the current manufacturing technologies can produce graphene in any industrial volume, and the cost of production is very high as to be prohibitive in penetrating any practical industrial application

various source feedstocks are possible, including graphite, purified coal, or even waste CO2 gas emissions

This allows the potential, for example, for China to leverage their coal deposits in Inner Mongolia and Shanxi, to convert the low-value carbon source (commoditized coal typically sources as under $100/ton) into ultra-high grade graphene products, which can currently be sold in the market in excess of $100/gram.