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Privately held Grafoid introducing more and more Graphene based products for market

From Marketwired

Focus Graphite Inc.

TSX VENTURE : FMS
OTCQX : FCSMF
FRANKFURT : FKC

March 14, 2017 18:40 ET

GRAFOID Introduces its Ion Selective GPURE Graphene Polymer Membrane for Lithium-Ion Battery Electrode Protection

A Focus Graphite Related Company Introduces a Novel Freestanding Nano-porous Membrane Technology to Extend Battery Life

KINGSTON, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - March 14, 2017) - Grafoid Inc., a Canadian graphene R&D, investment and technology licensing company announced today the development of its GPURE Graphene Polymer nano-porous membrane intended for next generation Li-Ion battery applications.
Grafoid's largest shareholder is Focus Graphite Inc. (TSX VENTURE:FMS)(OTCQX:FCSMF)(FRANKFURT:FKC), owner of the Lac Knife high-grade graphite deposit in Quebec. Focus Graphite holds two off-take agreements with Grafoid to supply it with high-purity graphite for graphene application commercialization with joint venture partners.
The GPURE graphene polymer membrane (GPM) technology is the seventh graphene-based companion to the company's expanding GPURE Platform of new, high performing, ultra-thin materials for diverse industrial applications.
The GPURE GPM product was developed as a chemically inert, freestanding membrane using graphene composites to test ion selectivity using both monovalent and divalent ions. Ion selectivity is a key requirement for a semi permeable membrane in a Li-ion battery structure.
By protecting the chemically sensitive electrode materials from unwanted chemical species GPURE GPM diffuses only energy harvesting monovalent ions such as Li⁺, Na⁺ etc. Conventional membranes lack such unique property.
To view Figure 1 please click the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/FocusFig1314.pdf
Grafoid President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Economo described Grafoid's entry into the battery membrane market as a potentially important technological solution for improving battery life cycling.
"Our GPURE membrane innovations and inventions for next generation battery applications are intended to enhance performance, extend battery life and improve safety," Mr. Economo said.
Goldman-Sachs Equity Research in its September 27, 2016 report, "Charging the Future" estimated the global automotive separator market was worth approximately 600 million US$ in 2015, totaling around 0.5 billion m2 on a surface-area basis and rising to $1.5 billion by 2020. This number is expected to grow to 7 billion m2 by 2025, in line with the growth of gigawatt hours in automotive batteries.
On February 16, 2017 Grafoid unveiled its initial family of GPURE Platform membrane technologies spanning a range of scalable industrial applications requiring novel, disruptive solutions to create new products or enhance or supplant existing membrane technologies.
GPURE membranes include:
GPURE (A) - A high performing, free-standing membrane developed for water desalination applications
GPURE (B) - A stable, large area membrane developed for wastewater filtration suitable for very high temperature operating applications
GPURE (C) - A large area free-standing membrane developed for water filtration pre-treatment and may be suitable for use in gas separation applications and may be used as a lightweight component for automotive and sports equipment applications
GPURE (D) - A large area membrane that may be used for gas separation and sensing applications
GPURE (E) - A large area membrane intended for use in gas separation applications
GPURE (F) - May be applied as a graphene varnish for wood surfaces to protect against moisture, UV light and high temperatures
About Grafoid Inc.
Grafoid is focused on four areas of graphene-related technology development for industrial adoption. They are: graphene based materials for energy creation, storage and transmission; graphene based polymers, graphene coatings and graphene based membranes, for all industrial sectors.
Grafoid is a Canadian graphene R&D, investment and technology licensing company. The company provides expertise as well as product and processes for transformative, industrial-scale graphene applications in partnership with leading corporations and institutions around the world.
A privately held Canadian corporation, Grafoid invests in graphene applications and economically scalable production processes for graphene and graphene derivatives from raw, unprocessed graphite ore. Focus Graphite Inc. holds a significant interest in Grafoid Inc.
Grafoid's research is supported through the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) of the National Research Council of Canada, and, on February 20, 2015, Grafoid received an $8.1 million investment from the SD Tech Fund™ of Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) to develop a technology that will automate Mesograf™ graphene production and end-product development. SDTC is mandated by the Government of Canada to support clean technology companies as they move their technologies to market.
For more information about Grafoid, please visit http://www.grafoid.com.

Contact Information

• 
  
  Focus Graphite Inc.
  Gary Economo
  President and CEO
  geconomo@focusgraphite.com
  
  Ed Notes
  
  FocusGraphite.com owns a significant share of Grafoid Shares.
  FMS-Toronto Venture Exchange

Grafoid - Advancing Graphene Technology to the next level with Mesograf

Many scientists and technologists around the world believe that the new super material, Graphene, will change the way we live, work and play.

As the advancement of Graphene and Nano Technology furthers science and changes the tech and business landscape around the world, small companies are becoming leaders.

 

One such company is Grafoid.com 

Here is an Introduction from Dr. Gordon Chiu, Grafoid’s President and Chief Technology Officer

Grafoid’s investment leading to the breakthrough, bulk quality, few layer graphene standard, MesoGraf™ represents a defining moment; a turning point in both material science and in human history.
MesoGraf™ enables graphene application development solutions. Our top-down scalable product forms the basis for our commercial relationships and ultimately, lowers industrial application costs leading to graphene’s universal acceptance.
As a business, we invest both financial resources and intellectual capital to resolve issues leading to application and production cost mitigation. We see our solutions as a first step towards graphene’s standardization and ultimately, market monetization.
And when we look at our graphene discovery and invention, we see ourselves moving science to the next level – not only in energy storage and composites, but in the collaborative approach we’ve introduced to application development, our principal business.
Based upon results from our own investment in Singapore-based Graphite Zero’s proprietary process we foresee breakthroughs ahead from an increasing participation in an array of unique, pan-industrial developments.
Graphene’s discovery opens new frontiers for industry. Mesograf™ sets a new standard for quality. Grafoid, as the agent of change, bridges the gap between science and industry by eliminating risk.
MesoGraf™ sets the global standard for commercialized graphene.
Thank you.
Dr. Gordon Chiu, B.Sc., M.Sci, MSTP recipient, ND
President and Chief Technology Officer
Grafoid Inc.

Grafoid is a privately held, Canadian Corp and in that sense, is closed to small investors.

However there is a small Canadian Microcap that owns a big chunk of Grafoid.

 Shares in Focus Graphite , FMS on the Toronto Venture Exchange (TMXv) can be had right now for pennies.  Sure, there is risk, but nothing gained if nothing ventured.

Disclosure, we own shares in Focus Graphite and continue to accumulate.

HP

Graphene 3D Lab Doubles Production Capacity

TSX-V: GGG, OTCQB: GPHBF
Graphene 3D Lab Inc. ("Graphene 3D")

 has accepted delivery of additional extrusion equipment that will double the potential production capacity of their functional filaments.
This equipment will also be used to manufacture the Company's specialty filaments including the recently introduced conductive filament sold through the Company's on-line store, www.blackmagic3d.com.

Graphene 3D CEO Dr. Daniel Stolyarov commented, "This new extrusion equipment will help us to meet the increasing demand for our conductive filament. The extra manufacturing capacity will also allow us to move forward with production of new specialty materials. We anticipate releasing at least three new materials in 2015."

The Company's conductive filament is ideally suited for 3D print projects that require electrical connections, including conductive traces (such as electrical connections found in circuit boards) or touch sensors (as found in trackpads, controllers or switches). Graphene 3D introduced the conductive filament for sale in March of this year. The filament is available in 1.75 mm diameter, 100-gram spools and achieves a volume resistivity of 0.6 Ohm-cm.

About Graphene 3D
Graphene 3D Lab Inc. is in the business of developing, manufacturing, and marketing proprietary graphene-based nanocomposite materials for various types of 3D printing, including fused filament fabrication.

 Graphene 3D is also involved in the design, manufacture, and marketing of 3D printers and related products for domestic and international customers. 

The Graphene 3D facility is located in Calverton, NY and is equipped with material processing and analytical equipment. The Company has four US patent applications pending for its technology. For more information on Graphene 3D Lab Inc., visit www.graphene3dlab.com
 
FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION
This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information in this news release includes statements about production capacity and production of new specialty materials.
In connection with the forward-looking information contained in this news release, the Company has made numerous assumptions, regarding, among other things, the potential production capacity of extrusion lines and market demand for conductive filaments. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies.
Additionally, there are known and unknown risk factors which could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information contained herein. Known risk factors include, among others: any issues arising from manufacturing and material production, development of new materials, and market demand risk.
A more complete discussion of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company is disclosed in the Company's continuous disclosure filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities at www.sedar.com. All forward-looking information herein is qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement, and the Company disclaims any obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking information or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking information contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments, except as required by law.
THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS PRESS RELEASE REPRESENTS THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE COMPANY AS OF THE DATE OF THIS PRESS RELEASE AND, ACCORDINGLY, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AFTER SUCH DATE. READERS SHOULD NOT PLACE UNDUE IMPORTANCE ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT RELY UPON THIS INFORMATION AS OF ANY OTHER DATE. WHILE THE COMPANY MAY ELECT TO, IT DOES NOT UNDERTAKE TO UPDATE THIS INFORMATION AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME EXCEPT AS REQUIRED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS.
NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
SOURCE Graphene 3D Lab Inc.

Related Articles:

Graphene 3D Labs jumps out in front of competition in Graphene race.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, TORONTO, ONTARIO and NEW YORK, NY, Jan. 29, 2015 /CNW/ – Graphene 3D Lab Inc. (TSX-V: GGG, OTCQB: GPHBF) (“Graphene 3D”, “the Company”) is pleased to announce that it has received and successfully assembled an industrial scale thermoplastic extruder line to be used in the production of conductive graphene filament. The equipment, which has a production capacity of up to 10 kg per hour of 3D printer filament, is now operation
al and has been tested for the production of specialty filaments.

The installation of an industrial-scale extruder in Q1 of 2015 is in line with the milestones established in the Company’s business plan. Sales of conductive graphene filament are expected to begin before the end of the first quarter of 2015.
Graphene 3D CEO Daniel Stolyarov commented, “The Graphene 3D team has worked tirelessly to begin commercial production of our materials. We are excited to now be making the transition from developing the materials in our research lab to beginning industrial scale production and moving forward to revenue generation. I am personally looking forward to offering our filaments to customers and to receiving their feedback on our products. Graphene 3D plans to continue expansion of production capacity in the near future, as we anticipate growing demand for our materials”.

About Graphene 3D Labs Inc.
Graphene 3D Lab is in the business of developing, manufacturing, and marketing proprietary graphene-based nanocomposite materials for various types of 3D printing, including fused filament fabrication. The Company is also involved in the design, manufacture, and marketing of 3D printers and related products for domestic and international customers.
The Graphene 3D facility is located in Calverton, NY and is equipped with material processing and analytical equipment. The Company has three US patent applications pending for its technology. For more information on Graphene 3D Lab Inc., visit www.graphene3dlab.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
This news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information in this news release includes statements about the commercial grade plastic extrusion equipment and its uses.
In connection with the forward-looking information contained in this news release, the Company has made numerous assumptions, regarding, among other things, equipment to be used in the production of conductive 3D printing filaments and the capabilities of such equipment. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies.
Additionally, there are known and unknown risk factors which could cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information contained herein. Known risk factors include, among others, any malfunction by the equipment or an incompatibility between the equipment and Graphene 3D’s material process.
A more complete discussion of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company is disclosed in the Company’s continuous disclosure filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities at www.sedar.com. All forward-looking information herein is qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement, and the Company disclaims any obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking information or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking information contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments, except as required by law.
THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS PRESS RELEASE REPRESENTS THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE COMPANY AS OF THE DATE OF THIS PRESS RELEASE AND, ACCORDINGLY, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AFTER SUCH DATE.  READERS SHOULD NOT PLACE UNDUE IMPORTANCE ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT RELY UPON THIS INFORMATION AS OF ANY OTHER DATE.  WHILE THE COMPANY MAY ELECT TO, IT DOES NOT UNDERTAKE TO UPDATE THIS INFORMATION AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME EXCEPT AS REQUIRED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

ED Notes:  Lomiko Metals owns 40% of GGG - We are investors in LMR

Lithium and Graphite miners begin to shine as Rockwood gets bought for 6.2B and Tesla announces it's "Giga Factory" for Lithium batteries

  Why we own Focus Graphite Shares

Focus Graphite has been one of our core holdings in the emerging electric car market and for graphene development. Here are 10 reasons why we bought into this Canadian junior.

1. Holds two properties containing strategically and economically important minerals
– graphite and neodymium – needed for green initiatives, and; for European and U.S. national and
industrial security.

2. Economics: The Lac Knife graphite deposit holds the highest concentration of flake graphite in the world at 16%. And their positive Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA, Oct ‘12) outlined robust economics: mine life of 20 years, $3.7 billion total net revenue, $926 million pre-tax undiscounted cash
flow, a 32% pre-tax IRR with a $246 million pre-tax NPV at a 10% discount rate. Lac Knife is anticipated
to go in production in early 2015

3. Supply conditions favor Focus Graphite. China controls the global market with over 70% of worldwide graphite production and with the United States producing no graphite, security of supply is critical.

 Super Capacitors printed on Graphene
4. Market applications favour the company. Future demand will be driven by green technology initiatives
in the Carbon Age - lithium batteries, electronics - and advanced technology-grade graphite applications and products and the discovery of the "miracle material" graphene!

5. The numbers tell the story. Current world production of graphite is approximately 1.2mt of which 40% is
flake graphite.

 To meet future estimated demand, some 25 new mines would be required by 2020.

6. Strategic implications will dictate future development. The U.S. and Europe are vulnerable to
graphite and neodymium shortages. Both the E.U. and the U.S. Government have designated graphite
as a critical mineral.

7. The Kwyjibo REE property has a strategic partner in the Government of Quebec through SOQUEM, a wholly–owned subsidiary of Investissement Quebec which is responsible for fostering economic development and job creation in Quebec.


8. The discovery of graphene will change the way we work, live and play in the future. At one atom thick, it is the strongest material known to science. It conducts electricity better than copper, is transparent, can be shaped to suit any form and can be modified to suit different industrial end-uses.

9. Graphene is most economical to produce from high quality, natural flake graphite such as that found at Lac Knife

 Graphene - the “new silicon” - provides limitless commercial opportunities through Focus Graphite’s
investment in Grafoid Inc. owns (40% )  Grafoid invests in, manages, and co-develops application solutions from economically scalable graphene.



10. Focus Graphite is positioned perfectly for long-term growth with the right resources, the right management and the right strategic partners as evidenced in its JV with Hydro-Quebec as technology partner in graphite purification and anode production.

Focus Graphite Inc. (TSX VENTURE:FMS)(OTCQX:FCSMF)(FRANKFURT:FKC)

Ed note:  We have been high on Graphite as a crucial material of the future of lithium batteries for some time now and also took positions in several other Graphite companies including Graftech Intl, Flinders Resources. Mason Graphite, Lomiko Metals, and Berkwood Resources.

Graphene Will Change The World And Fortunes Will Be Made!

In their paper, "The rise of Graphene" A.K. Geim and K.S. Novoselov, of the Manchester Centre for Mesoscience and Nanotechnology, University of Manchester point out, in understated terms, that "Graphene is a rapidly rising star on the horizon of materials science and condensed matter physics"!

I say this is an understatement because it does not adequately describe the profound changes in modern society that graphene development promises to deliver.

At this writing, hundreds of companies and labs around the world are in a frenzy of testing and development to bring the amazing properties of Graphene into the production of nanoscale computer chips, super strength (and super light weight) materials for Aeronautic, military and space applications, electronics, medicine, energy storage and so many other areas too numerous to mention here. Lux Research, in their report on advanced materials, lists the following:

Technologies: Nano-enabled coatings Wear- and corrosion-resistant coatings Tribological and anti-fouling coatings Superhydrophobic coatings Ceramic nanoparticles Carbon fiber composites Composite processing and recycling technologies High temperature thermoplastics Carbon nanotubes Graphene Nanostructured catalysts/supports Nanocrystalline metals High performance metals alloys like AHSS, Al, Mg, and Ti Metal matrix composites Metal injection molding Sheet magnesium 3D printing Smart materials and fluids Self-healing materials Metamaterials

Applications: Electrostatically-paintable composite automotive body panels 3D Printing and additive manufacturing Wind turbine composite blades and anti-icing coatings Aerospace coatings and structural composites Chrome-coating replacement Oil & gas drill shafts, production tubulars, and risers Electrostatic dissipation (ESD) and electromagnetic interference (EMI)-shielding Tribological coatings for internal combustion engines Diesel oxidation catalysts Polymer production from waste CO2 Filament wound CFRP pressure vessels

Companies: Zyvex Technologies tripleO MesoCoat Materials Innovation Technologies XG Sciences Morris Technologies Meridian Magnesium Polymics Nanogate Technologies Diamon-Fusion International Bayer MaterialScience Posco SGL Group Toray

Large companies at the forefront of graphene engineering include a who's who of the tech world. To date there has been a virtual space race to patent all of the properties of this "wonder material".

Princeton University's Quentin Tannock, in an article entitled "Exploiting carbon flatland" points out how many of today's Universities now value the patent landscape as a scientific "sharing" of information for experimentation, and in particular, in the area of Graphene and Nano Engineering. He also laments how many researchers are unable to capitalize on their discoveries in the marketplace, without a partnership of some sort with private companies. Although Rice University and the University of Manchester have been at the forefront of Graphene experimentation, it is private industry that owns most of the patents in graphene development.

Three Tech giants, IBM, Samsung and Sandisk, already have filed hundreds of patents for graphene discoveries. These three in fact hold the most patents in that order, and are at the forefront of graphene development in electronics and Semiconductors. For instance IBM holds graphene patents for such diverse applications as DNA Sequencing, graphene transistors, 3D, and graphene solar cells, just to name a few. Samsung's include: flexible screens, graphene/lithium batteries, moisture resistant electronics, and antidot spin valves.

Other patent holders include (but are not limited to) : The U.S. Navy (high resolution films), Apple (AAPL) (batteries), Head (tennis rackets), Kia and Hyundai (fuel cells), Saab (de-icing airplanes) Kimberly Clark (KMB), Toyota (TM) (lithium air batteries), Sony (SNE) (drug delivery), Honda (HMC) (gas sensors), Xerox (XRX) (printing), Angston (lubricants), Polimeri (Thermal insulation), Foxconn (loudspeakers), AMD (AMD) (3D), DOE (Tesla coils), and Bayer (Obtaining graphene from graphite by chemical means)

There is also a global race for patents in the nanomedicine field. At Lake Forest Medical Research Centre, Dr. Ravi Singh is currently researching the use of Graphene nanotubes to target and destroy cancer tumors. This is only one of many possible medical uses for this wonder material.

There is not enough room here to list all of the companies,the patent applications, or potential uses for graphene based materials, but you get the point. That is, the world is about to change and fortunes will be made!

In January of this year, the European Commission made graphene research a priority, pledging $1 Billion Euros to research and development of graphene initiatives. A "graphene Flagship Consortium" headed by Nokia (NOK) recently received a $1.35 Billion graphene research grant from the EU.

From an investors perspective, many companies stand to benefit from their graphene patents and research. Because of their front runner positions on the patent landscape, I believe the best bets are: International Business Machines Nokia Sandisk (SNDK) and Samsung. Both IBM and Samsung each hold over 100 patents in the graphene space and Nokia has been at the forefront of research since 2006.

There are also many private companies racing to capitalize on the many qualities of the "wonder material". I suspect the IPO space will start filling up with these as early as next year. While we wait for that to happen I like companies positioned to supply top quality graphite which is most prized in the production of graphene. These would be akin to acquiring the "picks and shovels" suppliers of the Klondike gold rush.

My top pick is Graftech International (GTI) a Global graphite player based in the USA with over 125 years in the business. Graftech is a leading supplier of carbon and graphite products for industry and is well positioned to take advantage of it's economy of scale as it enters the graphene market. Since 2011, Graftech Stock, as shown in the chart, has been in decline, but not the company itself as it is poised to benefit most from the infant graphene market.

Graftech is a leader in the field of graphite production, and will continue to be. The double bottom shown in the chart indicates a turn around in the stock price. We bought this stock last month.

Grafoid, a privately held research and development company is quietly positioning itself as a liaison between the graphite mines, the scientific research groups, and graphene user companies. Although it is a private company at present, it is 40% owned by a small Canadian graphite miner, Focus Graphite, which trades on the Canadian Venture Exchange and recently announced the first "trade-marked" graphene called "MesoGraf". Although it is only (for now) a penny stock traded on the Canadian Venture Exchange (FMS), Focus Graphite also owns three (3) of the top "high grade" graphite properties on the planet most suitable for graphene production.

Privately held Angstron Materials (owned by Nanotek Instruments and based in Ohio, USA) is developing and producing nano graphene platelets (NGPs), and also provide pristine graphite and single layer graphene. (Look for an IPO as this company grows up)

There are also many small labs and companies such as Anderlab Technologies of Mumbai India, which manufactures graphene and carbon nanotubes for research.

Flinders Resources which is positioned to supply Europe with top quality graphite from its proven Woxna mine in Sweden, just made it's first shipment of raw material to Germany last week. It is also listed on the Canadian Venture Exchange, along with Northern Graphite, Zenyatta Ventures and Lomiko Metals, all of which show promise in the field.

Remember that, investing in penny stocks is not for the faint of heart.  Having said that, some of these companies are sure to be big winners as the graphene boom takes hold!

The Graphene revolution

Graphene from Graphite

Article:  Focus Graphite

Graphene Age: Europe finally gearing up!

From: investingraphene.com

on January 25, 2013 at 9:13 pm

Posted In: Market Reports

Although Europe is the birth place and spiritual home of graphene, it has long been recognised that the continent is losing the race to commercialise the material.


A recent report on the distribution of patents relating to graphene has shown that China and America now lead the field. Cambridge IP, a company with a long standing interest in the graphene industry, claim that UK businesses and universities produced only 54 patents by the end of 2012; whereas China was responsible for 40x this amount, and the US approximately 30x as many.

However, this seeming loss of momentum is hopefully about to be forestalled. Announcements from the UK government and the European Commission promise large sums of investment in the graphene industry which will bolster the micro economy in nanomaterials and enable European businesses to regain their foothold.
The funding promised by the European Commission, which amounts to a not insignificant half a billion Euros, is the result of a two and a half year Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) contest.

 The bid, led by Professor Kinaret, includes over a hundred European research groups, among them the Nobel prize winners Andre Geim, Konstantin Novoselov, Albert Fert and Klaus von Klitzing; with such a strength in the consortium there can be no doubt that this is a concerted attempt to wrest back the initiative for Europe.

Feeding into the economy over a ten year period, the money has been awarded to the Graphene programme led by theoretical physicist Jari Kinaret at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. An initial award of 54 million Euros will be made over the next 30 month in order to ramp up the current levels of research and development.


Speaking of how industry is central to the Eurpeon intiative, Professor Kinaret has commented,

“The involvement of industry can be divided into three elements. There is a management component, where three of the nine seats on our strategic advisory council are filled by the industrial sector in the form of Nokia, Airbus and Texas Instruments. Then there is a larger group of companies who are research partners and who account for at least 14 percent of the total budget; a figure which could increase to almost 30 percent after open applications have been received.

Thirdly, there is a group of companies who want to monitor development but are not persuaded that the technology is mature enough yet for them to enter the field themselves in terms of research. These include AB Volvo and Autoliv.

The whole idea is that academia and business will work better together. In Europe we are strong in research, but up to now we have been less successful in deriving financial benefit from research than our counterparts in Asia and the USA… This is commonly referred to as the European paradox. This is what our flagship is trying to address. If we succeed, the entire “European fleet” will benefit.

The most rapid breakthroughs will be seen in the field of printable and flexile electronics. The advantages in this field are huge compared with existing technology. It is estimated that the market will be worth USD 60 billion a year by 2020, of which more than half will be in flexible electronics. In the USA, graphene is already being used in packaging material which alerts when someone tries to break it open.”

The support coming from the European Commission is only one of the fronts on which the graphene industry is being financed. As commented on in earlier articles, the UK government is also pledging its support by way of a £21 million package of investment that will see several universities benfiting.

Receiving the lion’s share of the money is Cambridge University, who have today announced the construction of a £12 million specialist research centre. The Cambridge team of scientists are involved in researching graphene flexible electronics and opto-electronics, which could include things like touch-screens and other display devices.

And you wil not have to wait long for the work at  the Cambridge Graphene Centre to commence; it is planned that the centre will start its activities on February 1^st 2013, with a dedicated facility due to open at the end of the year.

Professor Andrea Ferrari, who will be the Centre’s Director, said:

“We are now in the second phase of graphene research, following the award of the Nobel Prize to Geim and Novoselov. That means we are targeting applications and manufacturing processes, and broadening research to other two-dimensional materials and hybrid systems. The integration of these new materials could bring a new dimension to future technologies, creating faster, thinner, stronger, more flexible broadband devices.”

The centre will initially focus on improving the chemical vapour deposition production of graphene and will hopefully open up a wide avenue of possibility in terms of future devices and applications.
The remainder of the investment coming from the UK is to be divided amongst the other universities. Imperial College London will receive over £4.5m to investigate aerospace applications of graphene whilst the other successful projects are based at Durham University, the University of Manchester, the University of Exeter and Royal Holloway.

The universities will themselves contribute about £2m to the overall effort, and will work with industrial partners including Nokia (NYSE: NOK) , BAE Systems  (LSE: BA.L), Procter & Gamble(LSE: PG), Qinetiq(LSE: QQ), Rolls-Royce (LSE: RR.L), Dyson (LSE: DYS), Sharp (6753.T) and Philips Research (NYSE: PHG)- the pooled resources of which will add a further £12m in investment.

Clearly, the strategic response within Europe to the paradox of under commercialisation will take several years to bear fruit. Whether the response to the growth of the graphene industry has been swift enough will be decided, to some extent, by the speed with which Europe manages to claw its way back up the table of world patents. Whatever happens, Europe government, and a small clique of European companies, have nailed their colours to the mast of the graphene industry. The potential of the material is obvious, all we need to do know is make it pay.
Sources:
Cambridge University
Nature
Chalmers University
BBC

Graphene and Graphite have caught the attention of many early stage investors!

Focus Graphite
TSE-FMS

Quick facts about Graphene:

• Graphene occurs naturally in graphite, has unique physical properties and might be one of the strongest substances known.
•  
• 200x stronger than steel and so thin that it is transparent
•  
• The process of separating it from graphite will require some technological development before it is economically feasible to use it in industrial processes
•  
• Focus Graphite is a 40% shareholder in Grafoid Inc., a privately-held joint venture, to develop and acquire patent applications, secure intellectual property and develop graphene applications

A number of multinationals are active in graphene research and development (e.g. Intel and IBM in computing, Dow Chemicals and BASF as suppliers of basic graphene material, and Samsung in consumer electronics).

Graphene’s emergence as the “new silicon” and Focus Graphite’s participation at the graphene development and patenting level primes the company – and shareholders – to reap the rewards from emerging applications that will replace aging computing, communications and industrial technologies.

According to the renowned research scientist Dr. Gordon Chiu, VP and Chief Scientist of Focus Graphite’s Graphene Joint Venture – Grafoid Inc, the quality of the graphite source – which Focus Graphite holds in abundance – directly affects the quality and performance state of graphene, an allotrope of carbon that holds unique physical properties.

“Scientifically and commercially, the Focus Graphite business program looks for definites; looks to financially minimize risk, and; ultimately, looks to maximize shareholder value,”  Dr. Chiu said.
Graphene is considered to be one of the strongest substances known to science. It occurs naturally in graphite; is 200 times stronger than steel and is so thin it is transparent, but, unlike its source, diamond, it is flexible and electrically conductive.

It is anticipated the first consumer products using graphene will be released by the fourth quarter of 2011 or early 2012 as components of computing or communications devices.

As a transistor, graphene holds remarkable advantages over silicon in terms of processing speed and, more importantly, by obviating the need for internal cooling fans as it functions at room temperature.
As a component for industrial, aviation and infrastructural use, for example, graphene’s lightness and strength provide opportunities for those sectors to re-think engineering design and functionality.

Electric Cars etc: - Graphene for use in graphene-saturated battery and super-charging capacitor applications. For investors in those sectors, the long-term cost-savings inherent with those sectoral applications are incalculable at this time.

The trillion dollars spent globally on research and development on fullerenes and carbon nano-tubes during the last two decades laid the scientific groundwork for today’s application development of graphene.
The difference today is that graphene provides a stable, practical and useful material which has, as of yet, no equal in nature, in science, or in manufactured applications.
Graphene, according to some observers, will change the way we live.

But what is it?

• Graphene is taken from graphite, which is made up of weakly bonded layers of carbon.
• Graphene is composed of carbon atoms arranged in tightly bound hexagons just one atom thick.
• Three million sheets of graphene on top of each other would be 1mm thick.
• The band structure of graphite was first theorised and calculated by P.R. Wallace in 1947, though for it to exist in the real world was thought impossible.
• Due to the timing of this discovery, some conspiracy theorists have linked it to materials at the Roswell “crash site”.
• In 2004, teams including Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov demonstrated that single layers could be isolated, resulting in the award of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2010.

The Focus Graphite Graphene Joint Venture
Grafoid Inc., headed by VP and Chief Scientist Dr. Gordon Chiu, surprised the scientific community in early 2011 when it announced its entrance into the graphene development arena – a domain dominated by industrial heavyweights IBM, Intel and Samsung.

Grafoid, however, distinguishes itself with an understanding it has no competitors in its class, and its commercial development interests, under Dr. Chiu’s direction, are focused on high-value, near-to-market graphene applications.

(The proprietary nature of some 25 specific projects at this time preclude the company from identifying its commercial development targets).

The joint venture’s goal, said Dr. Chiu, “is to find a basket of self-sustaining technologies that require Focus Graphite’s participation to help them scale to their ultimate objectives.”

“They will need tons – not kilos – of graphene for their manufacturing processes,”  Dr. Chiu said. “And the quality of the graphite will directly affect the graphene. Focus Graphite will have a significant advantage here.”

In December 2011, Grafoid and Rutgers University AMIPP Advanced Polymer Center signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop and commercialize polymer and no-polymer technology graphene applications from Focus Graphite’s Lac Knife Graphite project.

Graphene is a remarkable substance.
Tens of billions of dollars are currently being spent on graphene research globally at university laboratories and in corporate research and development facilities in three principal sectors, namely: consumer electronics; computing devices and, industrial materials.

Additional research on a smaller scale is being applied to bio-medical application discoveries throughout the world.

For more information visit:  www.FocusGraphite.com 

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