Directa Plus - Page 6

Directa Plus has signed an agreement with Comerio Ercole to pursue joint research and development projects using the company's G+ graphene technology.

Comerio is an Italian engineering and manufacturing company founded in 1885, that specializes in rubber and composite material processing.

Directa Plus has announced that it is planning to launch a trial of graphene-enhanced asphalt at an international airport.

The six month trial would take place at Rome's Fiumicino airport on taxiway Alpha Alpha, a high traffic taxiway used for class E and F intercontinental aircraft such as Boeing 777s and Airbus A380s, the company said.

Directa Plus has announced the completion of a planned acquisition of a 51% stake in Setcar, which would be renamed Directa Environmental Solutions.

"Setcar has been a business partner for a number of years and we are pleased that it is now part of the Directa Plus group" said founder and chief executive Giulio Cesareo.

Earlier this month, it was reported that Directa Plus and Skanska are getting ready a trial of re-surfacing a section of a UK road in Curbridge, Oxfordshire with materials containing G+ graphene substance. Now, Skanska has mentioned that it is also in talks to trial the graphene-enhanced asphalt on the UK's M25.

The Curbridge works, which were delivered by subcontractor Aggregate Industries, involved removal and reinstatement of the existing carriageway to a depth of 150mm over a 750m-long section. One lane was replaced using conventional materials, while the opposite ‘trial’ lane was resurfaced using the asphalt enhanced by the innovative asphalt modifier.

Directa Plus announced the start of a trial of re-surfacing a section of a UK road in Curbridge, Oxfordshire with materials containing its G+ graphene substance. The trial will be in collaboration with Skanska, the leading Sweden-based project development and construction group. Directa Plus partnered with Iterchimica, an Italy-based leader in products that enhance asphalt performance, to carry out the trial.

For the trial, the companies will refurbish the two upper layers of a 750m-long section of road, comparing asphalt concrete containing the graphene super modifier. New technologies such as the super modifier had the potential to vastly improve the quality of road surfaces throughout Europe and the wider world, according to Directa Plus.

Directa Plus has raised gross proceeds of roughly £0.2 million (almost $260,000 USD) through an open offer and £7.4 million (around $9.6 million USD) through the placing and open offer, before expenses.

The graphene specialist last month agreed to buy a majority stake in one of its oil services partners, Romanian firm Setcar, which Directa's CEO called "a transformational acquisition".

Directa Plus recently reported a broadly unchanged interim loss, despite a 56% year-on-year rise in revenue, and said that it plans to acquire a majority stake in a Romanian waste management and decontamination services business for EUR4.1 million.

Directa Plus also said it will raise up to GBP8.2 million to fund the Romanian stake acquisition.

Directa Plus recently announced that it has been awarded a supply and service contract from an unnamed international oil and gas company. The contract will involve treating and recovering crude oil from producing wells onshore across Europe.

Specifically, Directa Plus will be paid EUR150,000 to use its graphene-based Grafysorber technology, a product that is used to treat water contaminated by hydrocarbons, to treat several thousand cubic meters of sludges and by-products over the next six months.

Italian bicycle tire manufacturer Vittoria Industries recently announced that it is launching a new range of products employing a second generation of its graphene-filler technology. The graphene supplier is assumed to be Perpetuus Carbon, as the two companies signed a long-term supply agreement for graphene materials.

It was said that while the first-generation generally enhanced the performance of tires, the new 2.0 graphene is functionalized to improve specific tire performances, targeting metrics like speed, wet grip, durability and puncture resistance.

Directa Plus has recently been awarded a patent in Italy to make golf balls using its G+ graphene enhancement. G+ compounds in golf balls can reportedly make professionals hit them even further while less skilled players will enjoy improved swing and shot control.

"Using our G+ product in golf balls, for both the amateur and professional game is an exciting opportunity to enter a large sporting market," said Giulio Cesareo, the firm's chief executive.