Graphene composites: introduction and market status - Page 37

Versarien has announced that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Absolute Engineering, a company credited with producing the world's first carbon fibre woven inking system, to develop technologies for the printing industry, including graphene-enhanced composites.

The companies stated that their collaboration will allow them to develop a whole new generation of equipment with market leading material properties and performance levels. The unique combination of Absolute's position as a leading supplier of carbon fibre inking systems and Versarien's protected graphene technology, should rapidly move this venture forward and produce a range of innovative products that will disrupt the current flexoprinting market.

Haydale has announced a new joint development agreement with the Saudi Arabian pipe producer Amiantit's Flowtite Technology, an R&D headquarters based in Norway, to develop pipeline solutions utilizing advanced materials technology including Haydale functionalized graphene based thermosetting resin masterbatches.

Flowtite Technology is the wholly owned GRP Pipe technology and R&D Center of The Saudi Arabian Amiantit Company, a world leading glass fibre reinforced plastic (GRP) pipe company. The company has annual revenues in excess of USD$700 million, and is a leading global supplier of water transport, sewer, irrigation and gas systems.

Haydale has announced a collaboration agreement with Graphit Kropfmuhl GmbH, part of AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group and an affiliate of Alterna Capital Partners. The Agreement focuses on the development of new value added nano-material products using Haydale's HDPlas functionalization process and certain AMG graphitic feedstock material primarily from its GK mine in Sri Lanka.

Haydale will initially supply an R&D reactor (HT60) and a larger capacity reactor (HT200) to GK for use under the Agreement. The initial contract value for the supply of the reactors is payable to Haydale on the normal machine supply basis. Subject to reaching the agreed milestones, the majority of the revenue is scheduled to be received in the current financial year and is expected to constitute a significant proportion of the Group’s revenues for the year ended 30 June 2016.

Researchers at Rice University have shown that adding modified graphene nanoribbons to a polymer and then microwaving the mixture appears to reinforce wellbores drilled to extract oil and natural gas, which can make wells more stable and reduce production costs.

The team combined a small amount of the nanoribbons with an oil-based thermoset polymer. The combination then was cured in place with low-power microwaves emanating from the drill assembly, resulting in the composite plugging microscopic fractures. The combination allowed drilling fluid to seep through and destabilize the walls.

China-based Knano Graphene Technology launched an ambitious project to construct a large-scale graphene production plant. We talked to the company's marketing chief to learn more about this interesting project.

Knano aims to finish construction by the end of 2016, and to start shipping products to customers in 2017. The new plant will mostly produce graphene-enhanced pastes, used for coatings and as Li-Ion battery anode materials. Knano says it already has customers that approved these products produced at the company's current production lines.

Condom maker HLL Lifecare has secured a research grant of $150,000 USD (Rs.6.43 crore) from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) for its phase II graphene condom project. The grant follows an earlier research grant for the proof-of-concept project to produce graphene condoms, also funded by BMGF, and is intended for "pilot scale production and clinical trials of graphene incorporated natural rubber latex (GNRL) condoms". HLL hopes to start marketing graphene condoms globally by the end of the phase II.

The research team has reported the successful completion of the first phase of the study, which involved producing the prototype of graphene-natural rubber latex nanocomposites-based condoms that allow for high heat transfer and improved sensitivity. The team explains that this second stage investment will be used for scaling up production of the graphene-enhanced natural rubber latex condom. The fund will also be utilized for quality checking, stability and clinical trials to test the safety and efficacy and more.

Versarien has announced that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Bromley Technologies to collaborate on the development of graphene-enhanced carbon fibre products using Versarien’s graphene nano platelets. The initial focus is expected to be on products in the elite sports area, where the early adoption of new technology to gain a performance advantage is common.

Bromley Technologies is focussed on developing and marketing innovative products and technologies, namely in the action sports domain. Bromley Technologies has particular expertise in carbon fibre composite structures and it is intended that Versarien will collaborate in the design and testing of a wide variety of graphene-enhanced composite structures, using Versarien’s patented process.

Researchers at the University of Michigan developed a graphene oxide-based device that could provide a non-invasive way to monitor the progress of an advanced cancer treatment. The device is able to capture cancer cells out of a blood sample and let them go later, enabling further tests that can show whether the therapy is successfully eliminating the most dangerous cancer cells.

The scientists explain that cells released into the bloodstream by tumors could be used to monitor cancer treatment, but they are very difficult to capture, accounting for roughly one in a billion cells. In their quest to develop technologies for capturing such cells from blood samples, they researchers designed devices that trapped the cells on chips made with graphene oxide, but all analysis had to be done on the chip because the cells were firmly adhered. However, it was found important to study cells individually, and this new device makes this possible.

The Advanced Graphene, Nanomaterials & Nanotechnology Research Center (MackGraphe) was recently unveiled at Mackenzie Presbyterian University (UPM) in São Paulo, Brazil. Built with support from FAPESP, the Mackenzie Presbyterian Institute and the National Council for Scientific & Technological Development (CNPq), MackGraphe has received an investment of more than R$100 million (over $28 million) and is the first center of its kind in Latin America.

MackGraphe includes nine stories and more than 4,000 square meters of floor area. It will aim to explore the properties of graphene and other two-dimensional (2D) materials with a view toward industrial applications. MackGraphe’s state-of-the-art laboratories and equipment are staffed by a team of researchers who specialize in producing and characterizing graphene for industrial applications.

Garmor, a graphene technology provider and developer of advanced customer-driven applications, has developed graphene-based composites ideal for high-volume electronic and energy storage applications. By leveraging inexpensive manufacturing methods to produce few-layer graphene oxide (GO) along with innovative composite compression molding processes, Garmor produced compression-moldable GO-composites that can be shaped and stamped into almost any form factor. Garmor is currently establishing strategic business relationships to deploy this technological advancement in applications focused on energy production and storage.

These composites exhibit nearly isotropic electrical conductivity exceeding 1,000 S/cm delivering a unique, omnidirectional conductive substrate. Equally impressive is that these GO-enhanced materials include a polymeric resin that is inherently chemically resistant and allows for increased lifetime even in harsh operating environments.