Here's a question for you: have you heard of graphene? Maybe not, but due in no small part to Nokia's efforts we're willing to bet it'll be a different story five years from now, once this wonder-substance hits the mainstream.

The world of mobile technology moves so quickly it's hard sometimes to see the wood for the trees, but rest assured – Nokia has its eyes firmly on the bigger picture, and the emerging “disruptive” technologies that will shape the mobile industry in the years to come.

Take graphene, for instance. You may not have heard of it, but that's likely to change in a big way over the next few years. It's a variation of carbon whose structure measures just a single atom thick, while at the same time having a breaking strength 300 times greater than steel, all from a substance that's also incredibly light and flexible, and highly conductive too.

It's easy to understand what all the fuss is about, then, and why graphene is being touted as a replacement for silicone as the base for all electronics.

So how does all this involve Nokia? Well, as part of a large-scale EU initiative started in 2009 to reinforce research into emerging technologies, work began in May on the Graphene Flagship program, with Nokia Research Centre (NRC) one of the participating members.

In the future, that could lead to wafer-thin smartphones far skinnier than anything around today, or super-flexible displays that can be unrolled onto any blank stretch of wall, then rolled up again when not in use.

Rest assured that whatever early practical applications that come out of the research into graphene, Nokia will be right at the forefront of the technology curve.

For more on graphene and the Graphene Flagship program, check out the in-depth report over on Nokia Conversations.