Directa Plus - Page 8

Directa Plus, a producer and supplier of graphene-based products for use in consumer and industrial markets, has announced it has received a further order from Alfredo Grassi. Over a year ago, in June 2017, Directa Plus and Grassi teamed up to develop graphene-enhanced clothing, workwear, uniforms and other textile products.

This follow-up order is worth an initial €0.70 million to supply high performance technical textiles with Graphene Plus (G+). It is anticipated that this order will be delivered in the current financial year. The Board believes this order represents the largest amount of textile material to be treated with graphene nanoplatelets by any company in the world to date.

Directa Plus, producer and supplier of graphene-based products for use in consumer and industrial markets, has announced it has entered into an exclusive collaboration agreement with Arvind Limited, India’s leading textile-to-retail-and-brands conglomerate, to infuse Directa Plus’ G+ graphene-based products into their denim fabrics.

Directa Plus’ graphene-based products can be used in a variety of ways to alter or enhance the properties of conventional Denim fabrics, and to produce ‘smart’ clothing for different purposes and environments. End-users benefit from the thermal and electrical conductivity and bacteriostatic properties of G+, such as thermal regulation, heat dissipation, energy harvesting, data transmission and no-odor effect.

Directa Plus, a producer and supplier of graphene-based products, recently announced that it has reentered into a 12-month exclusivity agreement and 9-month development agreement with an existing global luxury accessories customer, to produce graphene-enhanced accessories with increased mechanical properties.

'The value of the exclusivity and the development agreement, ahead of entering into an anticipated commercial contract, amounts to approximately €130,000,' the firm said.

Directa Plus reported its financial results for 2017. Revenues were €1.23 million, up more than 50% from €0.82 million in 2016. Revenues from graphene products and services increased 29% (to €0.95 million). The company lost €3.16 million in 2017 (down from €3.67 million in 2016). At the end of 2017, Directa Plus had €6.9 million in cash and equivalents.

Directa says that in 2017 its customer list more then doubled to 35 active customers (up from 16 in 2016). Looking ahead to 2018, the company expects to increase its revenues from existing clients - and to have new customers that order commercial materials.

Directa Plus has enterd an agreement with an Italian re-tread company to produce graphene-enhanced tyres for buses and trucks. A pilot program using G+ will start this year with a commercial launch planned for 2019.

Marangoni will work with Directa’s G+ compound to produce a bespoke product designed for specifically for commercial vehicle re-treads. A compound that incorporates G+ will increase grip, durability and fuel efficiency and extend the life of a tyre, as per Directa.

Directa Plus, a leading producer and supplier of graphene-based products for use in consumer and industrial markets, has announced the successful completion of industrial field testing of Grafysorber at an oil treatment plant of OMV Petrom, a leading Romanian integrated oil and gas company and one of the largest in Southern Europe.

The tests reportedly demonstrated that the deployment of Grafysorber improved the quality of water used for the injection process. The parties will work together on the second phase of trials to expand the tests to treat a further contaminant.

Directa Plus has announced that it has entered into an agreement with Sartec to jointly develop a commercial-scale industrial system (Pilot Plant), based on the Company’s Grafysorber product, for treating oil-contaminated produced water in the oil & gas industry. Sartec is a provider of industrial engineering to the oil, energy and environment sectors and part of the Saras Group, the Italy-listed company with a current market capitalization of approximately €1.6 billion.

The Agreement follows initial joint research over the last eight months (proof-of-concept phase) during which extensive tests on the Company’s Grafysorber product, as well as the effectiveness of the continuous process equipment, were successfully carried out. In Q2-2018, Sartec will commence building an industrial Pilot Plant, with Directa Plus providing support and expertise regarding Grafysorber.

Directa Plus, Italy-based producer and supplier of graphene-based products for use in consumer and industrial markets, has announced the launch of two new textile collections containing its Graphene Plus (G+) by Colmar, a high-end sports and activewear company, and Eurojersey, a producer of high quality warp-knit technical fabrics under its Sensitive Fabrics brand.

Both collections were unveiled at ISPO 2018, the sport and sportswear international trade fair held in Munich. The launch of the Ski Winter 2018/19 collection marks Colmar’s third winter range with Directa Plus. The new collection has been expanded to consist of 31 garments incorporating G+, including male and female ski jackets and newly-released graphene-enhanced ski trousers. It reportedly follows the commercial success of two previous ski collections.

Directa Plus has provided a trading update for the year that has recently ended. The Company states that it has performed well during the second half of 2017 with revenues more than doubling over those achieved for the first half. As a result, the Board anticipates reporting full year 2017 revenue of approximately €0.9 million.

The financial position of the Company remains robust with year-end cash and cash equivalents expected to be approximately €7 million.

Directa Plus recently received a purchase order from Vittoria, for 250 kilos of G+ graphene. The material is meant for use in the Italian company's range of graphene-enhanced bicycle tyres and wheels. Directa Plus says it expects to receive further orders during 2018.

Vittoria makes seven million tyres per year, and claims that adding a layer of graphene allows its tyres to remain hard on the straights but soften during braking or cornering. The Graphene+ tyres are also longer-lasting and more puncture resistant, says the Italian company, and they dissipate heat more efficiently.