ZEN Graphene Solutions

ZEN Graphene Solutions Ltd. (TSXV: ZEN) aims to lead the world in graphene material research and production.  Uniquely positioned to act as both supplier of industrial quantities and research partners developing new applications for graphene development.

Recent Highlights:

• Launched Albany Pure TM graphene products on their website at https://shop.zengraphene.com/. ZEN is planning to expand its product line to bring Graphene Quantum Dots, Graphene Oxide, Reduced Graphene Oxide, and other graphene-based products to the market.
• In collaboration with its university research partners has been developing a novel electrochemical process to produce graphene oxide (GO) from high-purity Albany Graphite. This new process has the potential to reduce chemical consumption by close to 100 times compared to the current Modified Hummers method thereby resulting in a significantly cleaner, environmentally friendly process and reducing the cost of production. Preliminary characterization work suggests that this GO is similar to the high quality, 1 to 2 layer material that has been produced by the current Modified Hummers method. Work continues to characterize the GO to ensure a consistent, high-quality product, along with process optimization and eventual scale up.
• The Company currently has an inventory of approximately 110 tonnes of graphite-mineralized material with an average grade of 6% graphitic carbon (Cg), 110 kilograms of 86% Cg material, 18 kilograms of 99.8% Cg, and 300 grams of GO. The Company will continue to process material and manufacture graphene-related products on an as-needed basis for research and development (R&D), marketing and soon to start building an inventory for ZEN's proposed webstore which has an anticipated launch date in the first quarter of 2020.
• The research team at the University of British Columbia-Okanagan (UBC-O) has started producing Graphene Quantum Dots (GQDs) with the eventual goal of scaling up the process and producing 10 grams of GQDs per day. These products will be used both for R&D and for retail sale.
• The Company has also received encouraging preliminary results from UBC-O regarding using reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO) to enhance the mechanical performance of aluminum casting alloys. The current industry standard to achieve grain refinement and improve mechanical performance uses commercial Titanium-based compounds. Early results show that ZEN's rGO produces similar results to the industry standard compounds, but rGO does not decrease the aluminium's electrical and thermal conductivity both of which are important characteristics for many industry applications.
• Guelph Facility for small scale pilot plant production and Research and Development is officially open. 

Five Significant Potential Market Verticals Established:

• Aerospace
• Biomedical
• Water Treatment
• Transportation 
• Civil engineering

Aerospace applications:

• Graphene light-weighting, hydrogen applications, lightning strike protection, composite enhancement, solid state heat sinks, solid state wiring, leading-edge/wing de-icing, ceramic armour, radar/sonar absorption, technical/smart fabrics, personal body armour, graphene oxide (GO) in jet fuel and lighter cargo containers.

Biomedical applications:

• Oncology treatment using graphene quantum dots (GQD) to deliver targeted therapies;
• Diabetes, other standard diagnostic testing with functionalized GO sensors.

Water treatment:

• Graphene-based desalination membranes and other water purification products.

Transportation:

• Applications with auto makers and resin manufacturers for: heat sinks and lightweighting, graphene wires for electric motors, graphene 3-D printing apps to deliver weight savings, (GO) fuel additives (diesel and jet fuel), hydrogen economy: fuel cells, electrolysis units, next-generation fuel cells with graphene 3-D printed circuits and graphene plates.

Civil engineering:

• Graphene additive in cement/concrete;
• Graphene in roads/surfacing products.

Albany Graphite Deposit:            

• ZEN Graphene Solutions has discovered the largest and very rare ultra high-purity
  graphite deposit in Northern Ontario called the Albany Graphite Deposit.
• Albany contains the largest and only high purity hydrothermal (volcanic in nature)
  graphite mineralization being developed in the world.  
• High purity graphite is gaining prominence at a time when Zen discovered a very rare
  hydrothermal graphite deposit, which can be upgraded with very good crystallinity without the
  use of aggressive acids and high temperature thermal treatment.
• Zen has discovered an easy and environmentally friendly process that consist of grinding, floating and caustic treatment using sodium hydroxide.
• The company has been able to achieve an ‘extraordinary’ carbon purity result of  >99.9 percent in bench-scale tests, using this proprietary and environmentally safe method of purification