Graphene composites: introduction and market status - Page 27

Graphenano Composites has signed an agreement with Tecnivial to improve the properties of the composites used in its traffic safety signs for airports, railways and roads by the incorporation of graphene. The signs are reportedly based on a compound formed by Advantex fiber fabrics mixed with thermosetting plastic resins and doped with graphene nanoparticles.

Tecnivial’s Nanotec composite signs incorporate graphene in the resin and are said to offer optimal mechanical and physical properties like lightweight and durability, corrosion resistance, excellent resistance to dampness, wind loads and snow, savings in manufacturing costs, easy installation and handling and lower environmental impact.

Sweden-based Graphmatech, which recently reported a breakthrough made at Uppsala University that "solves the practical implementation issues of graphene", has signed a contract with ABB, a leading engineering company that is focused on power, automation and robotics technologies. The joint project is related to graphene-based composites.

Graphmatech is a part of the InnoEnergy Highway - Europe’s leading business accelerator specializing in sustainable energy - as well as to the ABB innovation growth hub, SynerLeap and has received initial financing from Swedish Innovation Agency as well as the Swedish Energy Agency.

Versarien, the advanced materials engineering group, has announced that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with professional cycling team, Team Sky.

Versarien and Team Sky have agreed to collaborate to explore the benefits of adding graphene to high performance cycling equipment used by Team Sky. These products may include cycle frames, wheels and tyres, together with rider helmets and further rider apparel.

Applied Graphene Materials, producer of specialty graphene materials, has announced results of its collaboration with Magna Exteriors and SHD Composites on the W Motors Fenyr SuperSport tailgate. The product is being presented by Magna at the 2018 JEC conference in Paris. The collaboration has seen Magna enhance the tailgate of W Motors' performance-focused supercar using AGM's graphene-enhanced Epoxy Prepreg, supplied by AGM's commercial partner SHD.

This development follows the launch of a range of AGM graphene enhanced prepreg materials by SHD in March 2017, with SHD subsequently developing an industry-leading graphene enhanced epoxy prepreg system - MTC9810. MTC9810 is a tangible demonstration of the ease by which AGM's "process-ready" graphene dispersions can be adopted by the composites industry, with minimal disruption to existing manufacturing routes, and deliver cost effective performance gains. MTC9810 is supported by a strong mechanical database that exhibits outstanding mechanical properties, particularly in fracture toughness, interlaminar shear strength and fatigue life.

The PolyGraph project, a 4-year development project with aims to develop new production techniques to deliver industrial scale quantities of graphene-reinforced thermosetting polymers, has published its results.

The POLYGRAPH (Up-Scaled Production of Graphene Reinforced Thermosetting Polymers for Composite, Coating and Adhesive Applications) project brought together 14 partners, including SMEs, companies, universities and a research center, and has reportedly led to the identification of the most suitable materials and production techniques for graphene-based coatings, adhesives and composites. Once the graphene market reaches maturity and material prices drop , these new products could appeal to a vast range of industries.

Haydale Technologies (Korea) has signed an annual supply agreement for specific functionalized graphene nanoplatelet (GNP) material with River Runs, a Korean manufacturer of high-performance fishing rods and reels.

The graphene-based material has been incorporated in a carbon fiber prepreg to produce graphene-enhanced carbon fiber fishing rods for sale in both domestic and overseas markets. River Runs has reported a significant increase in mechanical gain.

Haydale will be demonstrating real-life applications of its lightweight graphene-enhanced prepregs at JEC World. Graphene-enhanced prepreg offers significant weight reduction and improved structural performance. This is expected to be of considerable interest to the automotive, sports and leisure and tooling industries.

On display will be: graphene-enhanced carbon fiber composite rear wheel arch made with thermally enhanced tooling; demisable fuel tank for use in the satellite industry; next generation graphene-enhanced bicycle frame; graphene-enhanced payload sent to the edge of space. Also, other components will be displayed, like Haydale’s latest advancements in graphene enhanced 3D filament and pellets aimed at improving the speed, strength, quality and accuracy of 3D printed products.

Advanced materials group Versarien has signed an agreement with shoemaker Vivobarefoot to collaborate on developing graphene-enhanced footwear.

Vivobarefoot is a leading maker of minimalist shoes, majority owned by Galahad and Asher Clark, with Taiwanese shoe manufacturer Stella International owning a minority stake, Versarien said.

Graphmatech, a Sweden-based startup that develops graphene-based nanocomposite materials, has announced a recent breakthrough made at Uppsala University which reportedly "solves the practical implementation issues of graphene".

The Company explains that up until now, a major challenge has been agglomeration under upscaling that has prevented utilization of graphene in real-life applications. "The novel hybrid ionic graphene material named Aros Graphene solves this and is expected to revolutionize the way we design electronics, energy storage and mechanical systems".

Zenyatta Ventures has announced significant results from the cement-based composite test work that was recently conducted by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Israel. BGU tested the performance of Zenyatta graphene oxide in a new cement/concrete admixture and the results demonstrated a remarkable reinforcing effect, with a compressive strength enhancement of 34% and a flexural strength enhancement of 62% over normal cement paste.

Dr. Oren Regev, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at BGU, stated These enhancements are among the highest reported in the literature for nanocarbon-loaded matrices (Carbon nanotubes, graphene nanoplatelets and other GO available in the market), suggesting that Zenyatta GO is extremely attractive for cement nano-reinforcement.