Zenyatta Ventures has announced the delivery of 10 kilograms of high-purity graphite to Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and Larisplast in Israel for the start of the next phase of testing of a pilot plant scale program. The main objective of the pilot plant in Israel is to further test a new concrete admixture containing Albany derived graphene but with a much larger volume of concrete. It shown that Zenyatta’s Albany graphite is easily converted to graphene with significantly higher yields of graphene nano-particles than any other natural graphite types that were tested at BGU.
Zenyatta, BGU and Larisplast have received grant funding from the Canada-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation under the Ontario-Israel Collaboration Program for this pilot scale test. Upon successful completion of testing, an Agreement between the Parties contemplates the formation of a new corporation (Newco) jointly owned (50/50) by Zenyatta and Larisplast for the purposes of marketing this new specialized admixture product. Zenyatta would be the exclusive provider of purified graphite to Newco and any other party working with Larisplast on this technology.
The scientific and engineering data obtained in the aforementioned work will aim to yield information for potentially designing a larger scale demonstration plant. Recently, BGU demonstrated that the addition of the Company’s graphene into concrete can achieve a faster curing time and a superior mechanical performance that inhibits premature failure and tolerates large forces like those produced during earthquakes or explosions. Also, this new admixture has the potential to reduce the amount of cement that will be used in construction, thereby considerably cutting carbon dioxide emissions related to its production.
