GNPs

Directa Plus has been awarded a €136,000 grant from the Italian region of Lombardy to develop paints and coverings with its G+ graphene nano-platelets. “This grant from the Lombardy local government will help fund Directa Plus to develop these potentially disruptive products in a faster timeframe than we could have achieved using our own resources,” said founder and chief executive Giulio Cesareo in a statement.

Directa has created a new technology, called Grafyshield, a granular, semi-finished G+ formulation for the coatings market. Grafyshield is “designed to be easy to handle and mixable with resins using mixing equipment,” the producer and supplier of nano-platelets-based products said. The target for the new formulation is to bring anti-corrosion and flame-retardant properties to the final paint system.

Haydale has started to supply South Korean plastics developer NeoEnpla with functionalized graphene nano-platelets (GNPs) for use in food packaging. Functionalized using Haydale's patented HDPlas® technology, the GNP-enhanced thermoplastic has been used to manufacture an initial sample range of food storage zipper bags and biodegradable plastic bags.

LLDPE and LDPE (low density polyethylene) are widely used in food packaging and are ideal for food storage due to their high resistance to moisture, tearing and chemicals. The graphene-enhanced zipper bags have reportedly shown an increase in tensile strength of 31% compared to non-graphene LLDPE (linear low-density polyethylene) zipper bags. In addition, the increased mechanical strength of the graphene zipper bags allows light weighting of the plastic, reducing the film thickness from 90µm to 60µm per bag.

Poland-based Advanced Graphene Products has signed a cooperation agreement with U.S-based Garmor, a division of Asbury Carbons, aiming to increase the scale of operations and expand its markets.

Advanced Graphene Products entered the Warsaw NewConnect market at the end of November last year. The company has an annual production capacity of 100kg of graphene flakes and 150m² of single-crystal graphene sheets. This production capacity will allow commercialization of the developed graphene applications on an industrial scale.

U.S-based graphene flakes producer Avadain has announced that it will upscale its environmentally friendly process to mass production as part of a two-year project funded by a $3.77 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST).

We are excited to unleash the Graphene Revolution by making large, thin and nearly defect free graphene flakes available in industrial volumes and acceptable cost, says Bradley Larschan, CEO of Avadain.

Applied Graphene Materials (AGM) has announced that Stanvac-Superon Group, an India-based manufacturer of industrial repair and maintenance solutions, has launched a conductive coating incorporating AGM’s Genable graphene dispersions, for use on industrial power transmission equipment.

Following successful development and testing, the new protective, conductive coating incorporating AGM’s A-GNP35 graphene dispersions will reduce contact resistance in coated copper and aluminium electrical cable joints to reduce the power lost over the connection.

Haydale has announced that, following the successful incorporation of graphene nano-platelets (GNPs) in its cosmetic face mask sheets and PPE face masks, iCraft is using Haydale’s functionalized GNPs in its graphene-coated fabric, THERMiT™.

In order to grant increased performance in terms of thermal and antibacterial properties, Haydale’s plasma functionalized GNPs have been used to coat the nylon fibers in the lining of a down jacket. The graphene coated fabric, THERMiT™, was supplied to South Korean sports apparel brand, Pro-Specs, for use in a new graphene-enhanced jacket. The initial production run of 8,000 items, which was available in store and online, sold out within weeks of being released.

Researchers from the University of Nevada have investigated the introduction of graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) to canola oil to improve its tribological properties, as part of an effort to reduce the usage of lubricants based on petroleum as lubricants for reducing abrasion and friction.

Three nanoscale lubricating combinations were created by combining both GNP and hBN settings in varied ratios to get the best beneficial synergy. The team reports that lubrication quality and performance may be increased by using low-weight percentages of nanoparticle (NP) and microparticle additions. One benefit is that it has a reduced coefficient of friction (COF) and wearing.

Applied Graphene Materials (AGM), the producer of specialty graphene nanoplatelet (GNP) dispersions, has launched a range of industrial anti-corrosion primers based on its Genable technology.

Graphene nanoplatelets have been shown to provide highly effective barrier and anti-corrosion properties in paints and coatings at extremely low loading levels. AGM reports that following outstanding results through extensive inhouse research and testing, it has developed two new prototype paint systems using its graphene products.

Versarien announced its interim financial results for the six months ended 30 September, 2021. Revenues were £3.82 million (up 41% from £2.71 million in H1 2020), while reported net loss was reduced to £3.11 million (down from £4.34 million in H1 2020). At the end of the period, Versarien had £3.46 million in cash and equivalents.

The company is now focused on two main application areas, textiles and concrete - for which it sees excellent opportunities in the near future. Versarien is increasing its production capacity. It has recently acquired graphene manufacturing assets in Spain, which will provide an additional 100 annual ton capacity, it has ordered equipment that will enable it to increase graphene ink production capacity by 12,000 liters per year and it has signed a lease on a new dedicated graphene production facility in Gloucestershire.

Versarien has announced a commercial collaboration agreement with DKH Retail Limited, the worldwide wholesale distribution subsidiary of global fashion brand Superdry, to produce graphene-enhanced clothes.

Through the partnership, Superdry will develop graphene-enhanced garments, using Versarien's GRAPHENE-WEAR^TM technology, aiming to utilize graphene's thermal and moisture management properties into its garments.