Directa Plus - Page 10

Directa Plus, a producer and supplier of graphene-based products, has announced that Colmar, the high-end sportswear company, has launched a new collection of ski jackets containing the Company’s graphene-based products.

The new Technologic G+ ski jacket is the second Colmar collection to contain Directa's Graphene Plus (G+) and follows the ski-suit of the first capsule collection, worn by the French national ski team for multiple successful tournaments.

Directa Plus has launched Directa Textile Solutions (DTS), a new company set up to commercialize graphene-enhanced textile membranes for the growing market of smart textiles. This launch follows the €60,000 (US $64,555) acquisition of a 60% stake in textile membrane company Osmotek by Directa Plus.

Directa Plus has been working closely with Novaresin, a membrane production company with a factory in Italy, to develop graphene-enhanced textile membranes. The agreement stipulates that Directa Plus will supply graphene-based products to Novaresin, which will then produce the graphene-enhanced membranes to commercialize through DTS.

Italy-based Directa Plus announced its financial results for the first half of 2016. Revenues reached €440,000 (up from €270,000 in 1H2016) and a net loss of €2.3 million (up from €1.3 million in 1H 2015). The company had €13.1 million in cash and equivalents as of the end of July 2016.

Directa Plus also reported some interesting new business activities and milestones. The company now has over 10 active customers (up from only three in July 2015), and it delivered 1.8 tonnes of graphene materials. Directa Plus also signed a two-year joint development agreement with a global luxury accessories producer in order to develop an entire generation of graphene-enhanced spectacles.

Italy-based Directa Plus announced the launch of GRAFYLON 3D, a graphene-enhanced filament for 3D printing. The new product has been developed in collaboration with FILOALFA, a division of Ciceri de Mondel that specializes in producing filaments used in 3D printing, and is now commercially available. RAFYLON® 3D is available starting today for purchase directly from the FILOALFA website and from FILOALFA’s dealers.

GRAFYLON 3D is a new generation of polylactic acid-based (PLA) filament containing Directa’s graphene-based product. In 3D printing, hundreds or thousands of layers of material are printed layer upon layer using various materials, most commonly plastic polymers such as PLA filaments. The inclusion of the company's Graphene Plus enhances the filament’s properties, while reportedly maintaining a competitive price. During testing, the following improvements in performance compared with non-graphene-based 3D filaments were observed:

Directa Plus is going to float on London's AIM market. The group did not provide any details on how many shares it will issue, the price of those shares or its anticipated market capitalization upon admission.

Directa's CEO stated that "Having overcome an important barrier to commercialization - the ability to produce consistent high quality graphene-based products on a large scale, cost effectively - our focus is on satisfying the growing demand from potential customers in our core sectors and to partner with them to create new products that are significantly enhanced,".

Directa Plus has announced that all of its graphene-based products have received international certification from Farcoderm, the renowned toxicity testing organization, confirming them to be safe for human contact. The company's products, such as GRAFYSORBER and PURE G+, were found to be not toxic, non skin corrosive, non eye irritant etc.

The company announced that it is pleased with these certifications and that the results confirm that its graphene-based products are safe for use.

Directa Plus and Colmar are jointly launching a line of graphene-enhanced sportswear, which they have recently presented at a sportswear conference in Germany.

Directa Plus has announced the commercial launch of the Grafysorber Decontamination Unit, a graphene-based system for tackling environmental emergencies such as oil spills. The Company has also declared that Biocart, an Italian company engaged in the research, development and industrialization of next-gen materials and solutions for the mitigation of natural disasters and environmental remediation, has purchased the first three mobile units.

Directa Plus states that the launch follows successful industrial remediation activities conducted in Italy and Romania. The Grafysorber Decontamination Unit contains a proprietary plasma machine that is able to produce on site all the Grafysorber needed to clean up water contaminated with the harmful hydrocarbons contained in oil spills. As it is a mobile unit, it can be quickly deployed to the site of the spill. It is a sustainable product as it enables the recovery and recycling of the adsorbed oils; it is recyclable; and it does not contain any toxic substances. The ability to produce the graphene on site and in the right quantity renders it a very cost-effective solution compared with conventional solutions.

International tire manufacturer Vittoria added graphene to the rims of the Qurano series last year, and now Vittoria has further embraced graphene technology by incorporating it into its latest range of 2016 tires, referred to as the Intelligent Tire System (ITS).

Like before, Vittoria has worked with Directa Plus, an Italian manufacturer of graphene, to develop its line of new tires, which the company defines as an innovative leader in the cycling world. Vittoria’s compound expertise and knowledge of tire construction contributes strongly to the quality and performance of the tires, but the company states that graphene is responsible for slowing down wear significantly and gives the products an edge that allows it to reach a whole new level. The combination of graphene and rubber can be made very stiff and rigid when it’s not forced to work (roll fast when going straight at a steady pace), whereas the flexibility allows the rubber to enhance the grip while the biker corners/accelerates/breaks. Vittoria states that graphene affords their tires with more grip in the wet, more puncture resistance, better durability and lower rolling resistance, as much as 19% in the Corsa, and up to 40% in the Corsa Speed, a tire designed to allow maximum speed.

International wheel producer Vittoria released a new range of bicycle wheels that are built from graphene-enhanced composite materials. The wheels, called Quarno (Graphene Plus inside) are now available in three different editions (46, 60 and 84 mm) and contain graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) provided by Directa Plus.

The company explains that the graphene grants the wheels advantages like heat dissipation (15-30°C lower) a crucial factor in the slopes, an increase in lateral stiffness (more than 50%) and puncture reduction, especially around the valve area. A couple of wheels weigh 1,250 grams together and the price ranges from €1,450 to €1,850.