01/07/2026
Professor Dr. Burcu Saner Okan, a faculty member at Sabancı University's Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Materials Science and Nanoengineering Program, is a scientist who has attracted national and international attention with her work in the field of sustainable materials. We spoke with Saner Okan about her innovative work in the fields of sustainable advanced materials, nanoengineering, and circular composites.
Sustainable materials are materials that use natural resources more efficiently, reduce environmental impacts in their production and use processes, and are recyclable or reusable. These materials support the circular economy by reducing energy consumption and waste generation, and contribute to creating a more livable environment for future generations. The aim is to ensure that materials remain in the economic cycle for as long as possible.
Therefore, sustainable materials are considered a strategic research area in the aviation, automotive, energy storage, construction, and packaging sectors today.
Dr. Saner Okan received her master's and doctoral degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from Sabancı University in 2007 and 2011, respectively. Saner Okan is a scientist who has dedicated her academic life to research on sustainable advanced materials.
NANOGRAFEN
Dr. Saner Okan served as the Academic Director at Sabancı University's Integrated Manufacturing Technologies Research and Application Center (SU-IMC) between 2022 and 2024. Furthermore, Dr. Okan, who has been a member of SU-IMC 's academic staff since its establishment in 2017, has made significant contributions to the realization of successful examples of industry-university collaboration as a founding partner of strategically important companies such as NANOGRAFEN and Euronova.
Graphene is known as the miracle material of the 21st century thanks to its extraordinary mechanical, chemical, and barrier properties, high electrical conductivity, and high surface area. Numerous investments are being made worldwide to increase the application areas of graphene and to move it from laboratories to market shelves. For graphene to gain a foothold in the market, its production costs also need to be reduced.
Saner Okan is one of the researchers captivated by the magic of this miracle material; NANOGRAFEN, which she co-founded, was established in 2013 through a partnership between researchers from Sabancı University's Nanotechnology Research and Application Center (SUNUM) and Inovent A.Ş. The company, which brought a different perspective to graphene production, obtained graphene by recycling waste tires in the production process it developed. "We call the process of breaking down material with heat in an oxygen-free environment pyrolysis," said Saner Okan, describing the company's development process: "Thanks to a partnership established in 2015 with the pyrolysis facilities founded by İlhan Yazgan, we established a production line where carbon obtained from recycled rubber is converted into graphene; we reached a capacity to produce half a ton of graphene per month. Thus, we created significant added value. We produced parts for companies like Arçelik and Renault. We developed this technology for ten years, but due to bottlenecks created by rising costs, we have currently put the company on hold."
Euronova: A Next-Generation Sustainable Plastic Materials Company
Euronova, the second company founded and headed by Saner Okan as Chief Technology Officer, is currently operational. Established in 2024, the company's primary goal is to develop material formulations that bring about a new transformation in the plastics industry. Saner Okan states that they plan to produce scalable, sustainable solutions that will replace traditional materials in the automotive, aerospace, and plastics industries using natural fibers, recycled short carbon fibers, and nano/micron-scale additives. In other words, she emphasizes that their goal is to develop advanced raw materials focusing on sustainability, recycling, and circular economy principles.
Founded with the support of Sabancı University Inovent and business people from the automotive sector, this company also has the support of Ahu Serter, Chair of the Board of Fark Holding.
Regarding financing, Saner Okan states that in the next stage, they aim to use the investment funds within the university to globalize and establish a business unit in a different country, while also drawing attention to the challenges they face. Chief among these challenges are the sustainability and repeatability issues in moving a laboratory study to the pilot level and then to the commercial production level.
International Recognition and Awards
Saner Okan, co-founder and CTO of Euronova, won the Certificate of Achievement – 2nd Place in the pitching competition held as part of the I2DM Summit 2025 hosted by Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi.
In her keynote speech at the event, Saner Okan shared her research and vision for future materials technologies under the title "Sustainable Nanoengineering for Next-Generation Circular Thermoplastic Composites." This keynote speech essentially served as a summary of the fundamental principles of circular nanoengineering. These principles, in short, are:
* As the world rapidly moves towards net-zero emissions targets, transforming waste into high-performance and value-added materials has become one of the major challenges of next-generation manufacturing.
* Plastics and old tires, which we consider waste, can actually be very valuable raw materials. Waste materials such as used PET bottles, polypropylene plastics, and end-of-life car tires can be converted into graphene using advanced technology.
*Graphene obtained from these wastes can be added to recycled plastics and carbon fibers to create stronger, lighter, and more functional composite materials. These materials have properties that make them particularly suitable for the automotive and aerospace industries.
*One of the most important aspects of this approach is its environmental benefit. Because it reduces the amount of waste and minimizes carbon emissions as there is no need for new raw material production.
In simpler terms, the main goal is to develop materials that perform the same function or provide better performance by consuming fewer resources, producing less waste, and with lower carbon emissions.
Prof. Dr. Burcu Saner Okan
Prof. Dr. Burcu Saner Okan is a faculty member in the Materials Science and Nanoengineering program at Sabancı University. She received her Bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Middle East Technical University and her Master's and Doctorate degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from Sabancı University. In addition to her academic work, she is the co-founder of NANOGRAFEN and the co-founder/CTO of Euronova, working at the intersection of sustainable materials, graphene technologies, polymer composites, and advanced manufacturing.
Her research focuses on sustainable graphene production from waste resources, lightweight thermoplastic composites, multifunctional nanocomposites, thermal management materials, and advanced processing technologies. At Sabancı University, she has led or contributed to a total of 25 projects, 5 of which are ongoing and 15 completed.
Saner Okan has a comprehensive academic and innovation background, including 80 journal publications, 8 patents, and 10 book chapters. Furthermore, she has given one keynote address and over 30 selected invited talks, reflecting her international visibility in the fields of graphene, sustainability, and composite manufacturing. She has received 19 awards, including the BAGEP 2023 award and the Mehmet Şuhubi Award (2021).
She also serves as an editor, reviewer, and member of scientific committees, and actively contributes to the development of research and innovation ecosystems in advanced materials and manufacturing.
