Graphene production

Graphene Manufacturing Group (GMG) has announced that it will invest AU$900,000 (around US$578,400) ahead of commissioning a planned 10 tonne per annum graphene plant, supported by a recent capital raise. According to a statement from GMG, the board’s approval for the investment will support early works for the expected plant, to be built at the company’s existing gas-to-graphene production site at Richlands, Brisbane.

The early works expenditure was “largely included” in the proposed use of proceeds for the aforementioned financing. At the time it also said net proceeds would cover R&D on its Graphene Aluminium-Ion Battery, sales efforts, working capital, and preparations to list on “a major United States exchange”.

After using graphene cooling tech in previous products like the GT Neo 5 model and GT 2 series, mobile phone brand Realme has announced that its GT 7 series will also make use of graphene-based colling technology, or what was described as: "industry-first graphene IceSense cooling design".

The company says the theme, “Power that Never Stops,” reflects its focus on sustained performance and battery life. 

Graphene manufacturer HydroGraph Clean Power has announced two growth milestones: a strategic relationship with a leading North American industrial gas supplier and the initiation of the first stages of planning for a new production facility in Texas. These developments, according to the company, mark a significant inflection point in HydroGraph’s expansion strategy.

Under the newly signed letter of intent, the gas supplier is expected to provide HydroGraph with access to its high-purity acetylene—a critical feedstock for the Company’s patented detonation synthesis process. This continuous, high-quality supply enables increased production volumes without compromising HydroGraph’s product consistency.

United Utilities has joined forces with climate tech company Levidian to demonstrate the potential of using biogas produced from wastewater to create hydrogen and graphene at its wastewater treatment works.

The trial is taking place at Manchester Bioresources Centre, part of Davyhulme Wastewater Treatment Works, where modern-day sewage treatment processes were initially developed back in 1914. Levidian’s LOOP device uses electromagnetic waves to split methane gas into hydrogen and carbon, capturing the carbon in solid form as graphene. The lower carbon blend gas is then fed into United Utilities’ onsite generator where it is burned to help power the site.

Researchers from Rice University and US Army Engineer Research and Development Center have developed an innovative solution to a pressing environmental challenge: removing and destroying per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly called “forever chemicals”. The team's method not only eliminates PFAS from water systems but also transforms waste into graphene

PFAS are synthetic compounds found in various consumer products, valued for their heat, water and oil resistance. However, their chemical stability has made them persistent in the environment, contaminating water supplies and posing significant health risks, including cancer and immune system disruptions. Traditional methods of PFAS disposal are costly, energy-intensive and often generate secondary pollutants, prompting the need for innovative solutions that are more efficient and environmentally friendly.

California-based turquoise hydrogen start-up Graphitic Energy has commissioned a pilot methane pyrolysis plant at the Southwest Research Institute (SWRI) in San Antonio, Texas. The plant is expected to convert natural gas into hydrogen and graphene through the end of 2025.

The plant will reportedly be able to produce “several hundred” kilograms of hydrogen and up to 1,000kg of graphene per day during 24/7 operations. The firm’s process operates at less than 800ºC and uses a fluidized bed to improve heat transfer and limit the size of the reactor. The company said the technology can be “sited anywhere natural gas or LNG are available, without the need to source renewable electricity or perform geological CO2 sequestration”. It claims that the process can scale to produce 100,000 tonnes of hydrogen per year in a single process train.

Researchers from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, University of New South Wales and University of Milan have a reported a reproducible and scalable method for producing graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets from commercial carbon fibers. The process involves exfoliating carbon fibers with nitric acid, which reportedly provides high yields of one-atom-thick sheets of graphene oxide with characteristics comparable to commercial GO sourced from mined graphite.

The GO production process, from commercial carbon fibers to graphene sheets. Image from: Small

The team explained that the proof of concept was carried out with carbon fibers derived from polyacrylonitrile (PAN), a widely available polymer that undergoes high-temperature oxidation and graphitization. The method could be duplicated with other raw sources, such as raw sources such as biomass or forest industry sidestreams.

Researchers from Graz University of Technology, University of Florence,  Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia and Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna have demonstrated an innovative process that enables certain common dyes - found in standard marker pens - to be converted into laser-induced graphene (LIG).

The study focused on Eosin Y, a widely used xanthene dye, which exhibited excellent stability and structural properties ideal for laser conversion. While most existing LIG production relies on polymer precursors such as polyimide, this research shows that non-polymeric materials like dyes and inks can also serve as effective precursors. 

UK-based Levidian is considering using flare gas from a UAE natural gas firm’s field operations to produce graphene and hydrogen. Dana Gas has revealed it had made an undisclosed investment into the British tech firm and had been working to deploy its LOOP technology across its field operations.

The LOOP technology uses electromagnetic waves to ionize methane into plasma to separate hydrogen and carbon in the form of graphene. It turns out that since September, the two companies have been finalizing the engineering and design of a pilot plant that could be deployed into Dana Gas’ operations later this year.

ADNOC Gas and Baker Hughes have installed Levidian’s LOOP technology at the Habshan Gas Processing Plant. The Gulf operator claims it marks the first-ever deployment of the technology at an operational gas processing site.

Carbon will be captured from methane, the main constituent of natural gas, and transformed into graphene, as part of a pilot trial. The LOOP unit is capable of producing more than 1 tonne per annum (tpa) of graphene and 1 tpa of hydrogen, making it a dual-purpose innovation aligned with global energy transition goals. Future industrial-scale installations are expected to deliver 15 tpa.