The Graphene-Info newsletter (October 22, 2024)

Graphene Manufacturing Group (GMG) has provided an update on its ongoing engagement with the Australian Federal Government, highlighting recent meetings with key officials.

GMG’s leadership, including CEO Craig Nicol, met with Senator Tim Ayres, Assistant Minister for Trade, to discuss the Company’s battery manufacturing progress and how federal policies like the Future Made in Australia Battery Breakthrough could benefit GMG. Further discussions took place with Speaker of the House of Representatives Milton Dick and Queensland Senator Anthony Chisholm, building on prior visits to GMG's facilities in Richlands, Queensland.

2D Generation has announced that the Israel Innovation Authority has awarded the Company a grant of ILS 1.2 million (around USD$325,000), out of a project of ILS 2.4 million (around USD$650,000). 

2D Generation has stated that the grant validates its technological advancements, as well as the strength of its intellectual property and market potential. The Company will use the funding to fuel the ongoing development of its novel low-temperature graphene deposition technology, enabling new possibilities for graphene applications across various industries. 

Zentek has provided an update on recent commercialization activities for its ZenGUARD™ Antimicrobial Surgical Masks.

As previously announced in July 2024, the Company embarked on a Canada-wide sampling program for dental professionals facilitated by Henry Schein Inc. that saw ZenGUARD™ Antimicrobial Surgical Masks included in product shipments to Henry Schein customers across Canada. As a result of this program, the Company is now reportedly seeing increased demand from Henry Schein, the world’s largest provider of health care solutions to office-based dental and medical practitioners with a presence in 33 countries.

While graphene aerogels have advantageous properties like extremely low weight, high porosity and good electrical conductivity, engineers who tried to use them to develop pressure sensors have encountered some difficulties. 

Image credit: Nano Letters 2024

Specifically, many of these materials have an intrinsically stiff microstructure, which poses limits on their strain sensing capabilities. Researchers from Xi'an Jiaotong University, Northumbria University, UCLA, University of Alberta and other institutes recently introduced a new fabrication strategy for synthesizing aerogel metamaterials to overcome this limitation. This strategy fabricates a durable graphene oxide-based aerogel metamaterial that exhibits a remarkable sensitivity to human touch and motion.

U.S-based Lyten announced plans to invest more than $1 billion to build the world’s first Lithium-Sulfur battery gigafactory. The facility will be located near Reno, Nevada, and will have the capability to produce up to 10 GWh of batteries annually at full scale. Phase 1 of the facility is scheduled to come online in 2027.

Lyten’s proprietary processes permanently sequester carbon from methane in the form of 3D Graphene and utilize the supermaterial to develop decarbonizing applications. Lyten has received more than $425 million in investment from companies including Stellantis, FedEx, Honeywell, Walbridge, the European Investment Fund, and the Luxembourg Future Fund.

Researchers from ISMN-CNR have introduced GrapheNet, a deep learning framework based on an Inception-Resnet architecture using image-like encoding of structural features for the prediction of the properties of nanographenes.

Scheme of the GrapheNet framework. Image from Scientific Reports

By exploiting the planarity of quasi-bidimensional systems and through encoding structures into images, and leveraging the flexibility and power of deep learning in image processing, Graphenet is said to achieve significant accuracy in predicting the physicochemical properties of nanographenes. 

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is offering Italian materials manufacturer BeDimensional €20 million (almost USD$22 million) in venture debt financing to expand production of Few-Layer Graphene (FLG) and Few-Layer Hexagonal Boron Nitride (FLhBN or FLB).  

EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti and BeDimensional Chief Executive Officer Vittorio Pellegrini announced the financing accord at the inauguration of the company's plant in Genoa. BeDimensional plans to build a second plant in Italy to scale-up production of FLG and FLB by 2027.

Versarien has announced it has raised £450,000 (almost USD$585,000) by way of a placing new ordinary shares in the capital of the Company. 

The net proceeds of the Placing will be used to further increase the Company's in-house concrete and mortar testing capabilities and fund external UKAS accredited testing services for 3D construction printed products, as well as for general corporate and working capital purposes.

Graphene Manufacturing Group (GMG) has provided a commercialization update on its THERMAL-XR Powered by GMG Graphene technology, highlighting ongoing customer engagements, testing, and industry recognition.

At a recent event in Brisbane, GMG re-launched its product, now branded as THERMAL-XR ENHANCE, which boasts improved heat transfer and corrosion protection capabilities. In a statement, GMG said that the rebranding from THERMAL-XR RESTORE reflects the product's expanded applications, including enhancing heat transfer in new HVAC equipment, a capability reportedly confirmed through third-party verification.