Ceylon Graphene Technologies (CGT), a Sri Lanka based startup company, is expanding its graphene production capacity as graphene-enhanced industrial batteries are about to hit the market, according to a report from an official.
CGT is a joint venture between Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC), a research body backed by the government, and private partners (Colombo-based LOLC group owns 85 percent of CGT and SLINTEC 15 percent). CGT has developed a technology to convert vein graphite into graphene.
Chief Executive of CGT, Manju Gunawardana, said that Exide, an Indian battery maker, would be among the first customers of CGT who will make an end-user product. A graphene applied lead-acid industrial battery has already been developed, which outperforms conventional batteries. It will be commercially rolled out in the near future, he said.
CGT currently has a plant that can produce about three tons of graphene a year. In April additional capacity will come on stream which will boost annual output to eight tons, Gunawardana said. We are manufacturing according to the orders we get, he said. We will expand according the demand.
