Sparc Technologies has announced it has received firm commitments to raise A$2.25M (around USD$1.49 million) through a share placement. 

Proceeds from the Placement will be used for supporting Sparc’s investment in Sparc Hydrogen, field trials and R&D programs to support product development and commercialization efforts for ecosparc®, R&D for sodium-ion batteries and other projects and General working capital.

Van der Waals encapsulation of 2D materials in hBN stacks could be a promising way to create ultrahigh-performance electronic devices. However, current approaches for achieving van der Waals encapsulation, which involve artificial layer stacking using mechanical transfer techniques, are difficult to control, prone to contamination and unscalable. 

Researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Wuhan University, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, National Institute for Materials Science and Tel Aviv University recently reported the transfer-free direct growth of high-quality graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) stacks. The as-grown embedded GNRs exhibited highly desirable features being ultralong (up to 0.25 mm), ultranarrow (<5 nm) and homochiral with zigzag edges. 

HydroGraph Clean Power has announced that its flagship graphene product, FGA-1, has been chosen by Volfpack Energy, a hardware company focused on using supercapacitor technology to increase the adoption of renewable energy across Asia. 

Its flagship product, fractal graphene, FGA-1, was chosen by Volfpack to be the base material of the supercapacitor design after Volfpack’s engineers determined that it outperformed materials traditionally used in supercapacitors, such as activated carbon, by 4x.

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has welcomed Sydney sailing apparel company Zhik as an official supplier for Australian Olympic Team sailors at the Paris Olympics. 

The eco-friendly water sports apparel by Zhik will be made from sustainable, plant-based Yulex rubber, with superior thermal insulation, comfort and durability, all while generating 80% fewer CO₂ emissions than conventional neoprene wetsuits. The fabric is infused with graphene, that can help return up to 20% more body heat, keeping bodies warmer for longer, regulating temperatures during low-intensity activities and aiding the drying process.

NanoXplore has announced the closing of a new credit facility with the Royal Bank of Canada (“RBC”). Under the agreement, RBC will provide NanoXplore’s subsidiaries with up to CAD$60 million (about USD$43,567,000) .  

The credit facility, inclusive of an existing equipment lease and other financial products, will provide a CAD$10 million (around USD$7,261,000) revolving credit line, up to CAD$45 million (USD$32,677,000) in equipment leasing and CAD$5 million (about USD$3,630,000) in term loans and will carry interest rates similar to those the Corporation currently pays. The new credit facility will allow for the reimbursement of existing loans of approximately CAD$4.7 million (USD$3,412,000) with other lenders.

Graphene Manufacturing Group (GMG) has reported that due to higher demand, its previously announced marketed offering has been increased from AUD$2 million (around USD$1,295,000) to AUD$3.024 million (about USD$1,960,000).

The proceeds of the offering will be used to strengthen GMG’s financial position and provide liquidity to its ongoing operations, including expenses related to its research and development objectives.

Black Swan Graphene has announced the commercialization of a new product, the GraphCore family of graphene nanoplatelets products. These products, now in full production volume, are tailored to meet a diverse range of needs within the polymer industry, offering various forms including powders and polymer-ready masterbatches.

According the the Company, in addition to double-digit tensile property improvements with less than 1.0% loading, performance enhancements seen at global customer industrial trials include:

* 25% weight reduction with 1.5% loading in TPU;
* More than 20% impact resistance improvement in PP at 0.2% loading; and
* More than 40% improvement in barrier properties in PLA at 1.0% loading.