Graphene composites: introduction and market status - Page 34

The Spain-based Avanzare, nanomaterials and nanotechnology-based solutions provider and Graphene Flagship partner, has introduced to the market a graphene additive for industrial resins used for corrosion-resistant tanks and pipes for storage and transport of potentially explosive chemicals. Their product will be showcased at the Composites Europe exhibition, running from the 29 November to 1 December in Düsseldorf, Germany.

The company's graphene-based product can be used to help avoid explosions due to electrostatic charges. Avanzare aims to produce vessels and equipment using resins instead of the usual metals; These resins are also cheaper, lighter and have very good corrosion resistance. The graphene-resin, claimed to already be in use in high-volume industry applications, was developed by Avanzare through a collaboration with Ashland, an international chemical manufacturing company. According to company reports, the graphene-resin is already in use in chemical plants across Europe, and Ashland has installed graphene-resin systems in their facilities in Spain.

Versarien, the advanced materials group, announced the receipt of a significant graphene order for a carbon fibre composite related OEM application.

Versarien has received an order with a value of over £100,000 (around $124,900 USD) for graphene in the form of Few Layer Graphene Nano Platelets (GNPs) from a European commercial customer, in conjunction with the NGI. This graphene will be certified by the NGI and Versarien will be handling the dispersion of the GNPs into the resin to be used by the customer. The resin will be provided by the customer free of charge and will be returned to the customer in Europe once mixed with Versarien's GNPs.

Haydale Graphene Industries announced that Haydale Composite Solutions (HCS), its wholly owned subsidiary, has formally entered into a joint development agreement with Huntsman Advanced Materials. This agreement has resulted from the successful preliminary work jointly undertaken with Huntsman, to develop a range of graphene enhanced resins to complement its current product range.

The agreement provides Huntsman with the exclusive worldwide rights to market, distribute and sell a range of its resins enhanced with Haydale's functionalised graphene. This will include ARALDITE epoxy resins. The agreement will allow Huntsman to purchase Haydale's graphene enhanced masterbatches for use in the fields of composites and adhesives. Huntsman has also agreed to work exclusively with HCS to further develop graphene enhanced masterbatches with specific targeted performance characteristics.

ORA, a Canada-based early-stage start-up that develops graphene-enhanced audio equipment, has unveiled its graphene oxide-based composite material, dubbed grapheneQ. The material was thus named because of its low density and high stiffness, that reportedly allow for louder drivers that have a lower Q resonance, and has been specially designed for use in acoustic transducers.

Loudspeakers work by vibrating a thin diaphragm. These vibrations then create pressure waves in surrounding air that produce different sounds depending on their frequency. The membrane in any speaker can be thought of as a simple harmonic oscillator with an intrinsic mass and restoring force. The heavier the membrane’s mass, the more inertia and sharper resonance it has because of its high Q. The most common way to reduce resonance and broaden bandwidth is to add damping, but this ultimately reduces the efficiency of the driver.

Versarien recently announced the purchase of AAC Cyroma, a specialist plastic manufacturer, for about £1.4m to establish a dedicated graphene plastic manufacturing factory. Using Versarien's graphene manufacturing capabilities and AAC Cyroma's knowledge, plant and equipment, the acquisition will aim to enable the company to produce graphene-enhanced products, including automotive-related original equipment.

Versarien also bought The Breakfast Club 2000, a non-trading holding company which owns 85% AAC Cyroma's shares and the remaining 15% was bought from an individual, and together the shares will be admitted to AIM.

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.

Group NanoXplore, a Montreal-based company specializing in the production and application of graphene and its derivative materials, has announced that it has raised $2.255 million CAD (around $1.64 USD) of equity financing. Participants in this financing raise included existing shareholders, notably Mason Graphite, as well as new Quebec-based investors.

This announcement follows the September 2016 announcement of closing a $28.8 million private placement by Mason, with around $1 million CAD that was to be used to increase Mason's equity in Group NanoXplore.

Graphene 3D Lab recently announced that it has developed an innovative graphene composite material that was given the trade name "G6-ImpactTM", intended for users in the automotive, robotics, drone, aerospace industries and military sectors. G3L has filed a provisional patent application covering methods of production and formulation as well as the potential applications of the G6-ImpactTM material.

The new material reportedly features excellent rigidity and extraordinary absorption for both impact and vibration. Its high performance is ensured by G3L's proprietary formulation and production method. G6-ImpactTM will be an optimal material for applications where vibration damping is required on rigid surfaces, which could include sporting gear, power tools handles, automotive parts, and aerospace components.

Researchers from India's VIT University demonstrated the successful modification of thermoplastics with graphene nano-platelets (GNPs). The researchers present a study on the voltage and current phase uniformity as a function of temperature.

The researchers say that the investigation shows that the resulting reinforced thermoplastic material is promising for the development of thermal sensor for aerospace, automobile and health applications.

Applied Graphene Materials has announced that it has supplied its graphene material for use in the production of a range of fishing rods, made by UK's Century Composites. Century has unveiled a new range of fishing rods containing the AGM's GNPs, sold under the brand Graphex.

Century has been manufacturing composite fishing rods in the UK for nearly 40 years, utilizing a range of reinforcing materials including glass, aramid, polyethylene and carbon fibers. Following a period of collaboration, AGM’s work with Century has resulted in the incorporation of graphene nanoplatelets into a high specification range of fishing rods.