Versarien - Page 5

Versarien recently announced that it has entered into a wide-ranging series of agreements with Graphene Lab, a South Korean company specializing in chemical vapor deposition (CVD) graphene, including sensors, OLEDs, and flexible transparent touch panels, with the intention of advancing both Versarien's and Graphene Lab's proposed activities in South Korea.

This follows Versarien's acquisition of certain graphene production related assets and intellectual property from South Korea based Hanwha Aerospace, as announced on 22 December 2020.

Versarien recently reported that its graphene-enhanced face mask has met the FFP3 standard, the highest standard under the European EN149 standard for filtering half face masks.

As previously outlined in its half-year results, the advanced materials engineering group’s wholly owned Chinese subsidiary, Beijing Versarien Technology Company Limited, has been working with its partner on further developments of the masks. Specifically, this included the testing of a prototype second generation graphene enhanced face mask conducted in China at the Analytical and Testing Centre of Capital Regions which showed a 99.92% antiviral activity rate against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Versarien has announced that it has agreed to acquire certain graphene production related assets and intellectual property from South Korea based Hanwha Aerospace, for (the equivalent to) £4.34 million (around USD$5.8 million).

In addition, the Company has entered into a subscription agreement with Lanstead Capital Investors LP to subscribe for raising gross proceeds of £3.50 million (around USD$4.7 million), the proceeds of which will be used for an additional sharing agreement with Lanstead.

The Coronavirus pandemic has been having a significant impact on the graphene market and industry. Even before the pandemic, graphene has already received much attention due to promising antimicrobial properties and demonstrated antiviral efficacy. However, there is no denying the recent urgency to put these traits to good use in combating the Coronavirus.

More than a few companies have launched graphene-enhanced textiles, inks and coatings, incorporated into personal protective gear (face masks, gloves etc.), and applications like air filters and room cleansers have been developed.

Versarien has announced that it has been awarded a product development agreement for £1.95 million (around USD$2.6 million) by the Defense, Science and Technology Laboratory, a part of the Ministry of Defense. DSTL is responsible for ensuring that innovative science and technology contribute to the defense and security of the UK.

The Agreement is to develop graphene-loaded polymer composites for certain defense related applications, the details of which were not disclosed.

Versarien has announced its unaudited results for the year ended 31 March 2020. Group revenues were £8.3 million (A downfall from 2019's £9.1 million), loss before tax was £4.7 million (a larger loss compared to 2019: £2.8 million) and cash at 31 March 2020 of £1.7 million (less than 2019's £4.3 million).

Versarien also mentioned in its report various highlights like the Commercial Partnership Agreement with the Company’s textile sector collaboration partner, MAS Innovation (Private) Limited, to develop new garments utilising Versarien’s graphene ink materials, Versarien's participation in the Graphene Flagship project, led by Airbus, to develop graphene based thermo-electric ice protection systems to prevent icing on aircraft surfaces, receiving a £5 million Innovate UK loan for scale up and product development related to the GSCALE collaborations and Versarien's Graphene Enhanced Protective Face Masks launched with first orders received for 120,000 masks.

Versarien has announced the launch of its first graphene-enhanced protective face mask, which utilizes Polygrene, Versarien’s graphene-enhanced polymer.

The launch of the new protective face mask is said to coincide with the first two orders Versarien has received following recent prelaunch sales activity, which resulted in 100,000 masks being delivered to a leading British university and 20,000 ordered by a UK electrical and mechanical servicing and repairs business.

Advanced materials group Versarien has been awarded a £5 million loan facility by a subsidiary of UK Research and Innovation.

The Versarien loan is for a project named G SCALE, (an acronym for Graphene-Seat, Concrete, Arch, Leisure, Elastomer) which is designed to enable Versarien to significantly increase its manufacture of quality assured graphene.

Advanced materials engineering company Versarien has announced that its subsidiary, 2-DTech, has been awarded a grant of up to £104,000 from the Advanced Propulsion Center (APC).

The firm said the award was part of APC's £1 million-plus initiative to support 14 micro, small and medium-sized companies that are developing innovative low-carbon technologies to reduce vehicle emissions.

It was recently reported that Rolls-Royce is to work with the University of Manchester’s Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) and its partner Versarien on the use of graphene and other 2D materials used in wiring for next-generation aerospace engine systems.

The initial program of work will use the state-of-the-art chemical vapor deposition (CVD) equipment located within the GEIC.