Graphenea, the leading graphene manufacturer and supplier, announced plans to construct a new graphene pilot plant. $2.5 million will be invested in building the plant, which is meant to be opened in 24 months and multiply production capacity by 200 times.
Graphenea was granted $1.8 million by the EU for the construction of this plant, as part of the Horizon 2020 program 'SME Instrument' for the enlargement and growth of its industrial project. The other $700,000 come from Graphenea's own equity from its last financing round. Graphenea also stated that: "if the phase pilot plant is successful, Graphenea will move to an industrial phase that will require a larger investment."
In a first stage, the pilot plant will be limited to an annual production of 1 ton per year imposed by the European regulation of new chemical products. Graphenea has begun the process of registration and certification of their materials to overcome this regulatory limitation. Also, Graphenea sees a great growth potential in the US and so has decided to open an Applications Laboratory in the MIT campus.