Investing in public graphene stocks - Page 23

Integrated Graphene has announced it will be investing £8 million (around USD$9,496,000) to scale up its manufacturing process for the commercial production of graphene.

Integrated Graphene developed a commercially viable graphene manufacturing process that is currently scaled to high volumes. It is claimed that this process eliminates the scale-up challenges associated with CVD graphene and graphene powder. The Company is also designing manufacturing processes for companies to effectively bolt-on to existing lines, and it also has a team dedicated to supporting organizations to adapt graphene technologies for their products.

Graphex Group, which manufactures graphene products for lithium-ion batteries in China, has announced terms for its IPO On the US NYSE stock exchange. The company is currently listed on the Hong Kong Exchange (6128) and the OTCQX market (GRFXY). The Hong Kong-based company also stated plans to raise $8 million as part of the IPO.

Graphex manufactures natural spherical graphite and specialized graphite products that are used primarily in lithium-ion batteries, typically for electric vehicles and clean energy storage solutions. The company's graphene products operations are based in China and strategically located near a supply source of high-quality natural graphite. Graphex reports that it currently has approximately 30 customers in the PRC, primarily manufacturers of automotive batteries, conductive agents, refractory materials for the steel industry, and heat sink materials for precision electronics.

A UK-based start-up called Vector Homes, working on new techniques and materials for sustainable housing using graphene, has announced securing nearly £200,000 (almost USD$245,800) in Smart Grant funding by Innovate UK.

The money will help fund a research program to develop graphene-enhanced recycled plastic formulations for residential construction. The project will enhance polymers with nano-materials to increase strength, durability, thermal and acoustic performance and further recyclability.

Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, have launched a new global graphene funding opportunity, aiming to support the development and applications of graphene (and other 2D materials) in the areas of composites (lightweighting), water and energy.

Khlaifa University established a new fund, called the RIC-2D Research and Innovation Fund, which will offer funding of up to $2 million per year for each project, for a maximum project duration of 3 years.

Watercycle Technologies, a spin-out company from The University of Manchester, has secured initial funding for its technology that uses graphene-based membranes and systems to extract lithium and other minerals from brines and water solutions.

Led by Sebastian Leaper, a former PhD student from the Department of Materials at Manchester, Watercycle Technologies has taken Tier 2 membership of the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC), with lab space and access to advanced 2D materials facilities and expertise in prototyping.

Zentek has announced that McMaster University has received two Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Grants related to the aptamer-based rapid detection technology exclusively licensed by Zentek, pursuant to its license agreement with McMaster: The Alliance Missions Grant for the amount of CAD$1,000,000 (around USD$782,000) and an Idea to Innovation (I2I) Grant for the amount of CAD$350,000 (around USD$274,000) of which Zentek will make a CAD$140,000 (around USD$109,000) contribution. Both of these awards are the maximum awarded under each respective grant program, with disbursements delivered over the next two years.

The research team at McMaster University has achieved significant milestones for the rapid diagnostic platform including the creation of a new ‘universal’ aptamer with a high binding affinity to all known Covid variants, said Greg Fenton, CEO of Zentek. Zentek is proud to continue working with the global-leading research team at McMaster University, with significant financial support from NSERC, which is a great endorsement of our technology and goal of commercialization.

Versarien announced its latest financial results. The company reports increased interest from global companies, with an increase in revenues and a drop in net loss.

In the year that ended on March 2022, Versarien's revenues grew to £7.6 million, up from £5.7 million a year ago. The group's graphene revenues grew by 170% to £1.9 million. The company's operating loss decreased to £1.04 million (down from £1.88 a year ago). Versarien reported it had £3.1 million in cash and equivalents at the end of the quarter.

Skeleton Technologies and ZPUE, the largest manufacturer of electrical devices for electrical power distribution utilities in Poland, have entered into a commercial agreement to provide energy storage solutions to the Polish market.

The two companies signed a Letter of Intent under which Skeleton should supply supercapacitors for rail wayside storage at 200 MW per year from 2023 to 2025.

NanoXplore and Solmax Group have announced that they have entered into a blanket purchase order, following several years of collaborative work.

The five-year collaboration between the two companies has reportedly resulted in a product and Solmax CEO, Jean-Louis Vangeluwe, said: This cooperation underscores our commitment to delivering growth through forward-looking innovation and collaboration. Our five-year development collaboration with NanoXplore will allow us to launch a next-generation product based on graphene technology that solves some of our customers’ sustainability challenges while also boosting performance.

Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has launched a collaborative project to develop 2.5D materials. The project, titled "Science of 2.5 Dimensional Materials: Paradigm Shift of Materials Science Toward Future Social Innovation" includes 40 researchers in Japan, led by Prof. Ago Hiroki at Kyushu University.

2.5D materials are made by stacking different 2D materials artificially by using advanced transfer techniques. These new materials are not limited by lattice constant or composition, and it is possible to control the material layers, and their stacking angle. These new materials could unlock new breakthroughs in materials science.