Applied Graphene Materials Share Discussion Threads

[itchycrack] 29/12/2013 23:55

You should check out GRPH!!!

[inscrutable ted] 29/12/2013 23:34

FCA warning on graphene investments tomorrow

Although governments and companies are pouring billions of dollars into graphene research and development it is unlikely to be used commercially on a significant scale until around 2020.

"The scam we are highlighting relies on the fact that although many people will have heard of graphene, they may be unaware it will be some time before graphene-based products hit the market," said Tracey McDermott, director of enforcement and financial crime at the FCA. "Finding an accurate price for graphene is very difficult, and its value is expected to fall over the coming years."

[n3tleylucas] 10/12/2013 08:37

Thanks Mpilot & bones. Very interesting, the AGM specific section is 7m 40 sec's to 14m 10 sec's.

[bones] 09/12/2013 21:51

No worries Mpilot, just throw in some capitals!

[mpilot] 09/12/2013 20:34

Thanks for updating the link, I now know the secret for next time.

[mpilot] 09/12/2013 18:40

I'm surprised none has commented on the pro AGM program on BBC Radio 4 this morning.

Available as a podcast over the next few days at (and I can't post a formal link, so I'll let you replace the x's)

hxxp://www.xxc.co.uk/programmes/b03kpnjx

For general information I found this very informative and reassuring.

[simon gordon] 07/12/2013 14:54

FT - 6/12/13:

The growing graphene investment bubble

By Jonathan Eley

The 'wonder material' is getting ahead of itself

Few outside the scientific community will remember Martin Fleischmann, who died last year. He was the electrochemist who, along with Stanley Pons, caused a stir in 1989 with his claim that nuclear fusion could be achieved at room temperature using deuterium, or "heavy water" and a suitable catalyst.

I can still remember sitting in an physics lesson, excitedly discussing how this "discovery" could turn the syllabus upside down just weeks before we took our A-levels. Conventional "hot" nuclear fusion requires very high temperatures and produces all sorts of nasty by-products. Releasing energy at normal temperatures, using commonly available elements and with little waste, would have transformed the world.

Would have. Alas, few other scientists could replicate the Fleischmann and Pons results. The furore soon died down, cold fusion remains to this day a great white hope, and the only way we can release nuclear energy by combining atoms is still to smash heavy metal isotopes into each other at high temperature.

I'm reminded of this tale by the growing hype over "wonder material" graphene. This is certainly more tangible than cold fusion.

Andre Geim, the Russian émigré working at the University of Manchester, has already won a Nobel Prize for his work on graphene, a "nanomaterial" just one atom thick and with a graphite-like hexagonal structure. It's a brilliant conductor of electricity, light and very strong. There are thousands of potential applications for it.

"Potential". Graphene has been around since 2004, and many patents connected with it have been filed around the world (the Koreans are especially interested). Bill Gates has suggested it be used to make indestructible condoms to prevent the spread of disease in the developing world. But so far there are no widespread commercial uses for it.

That hasn't stopped people cashing in. There are already two graphene stocks on the Alternative Investment Market. One, Applied Graphene Materials, floated recently and shot straight to a big premium over its listing price – doubtless aided by the fact that it qualifies for tax relief under VCT and EIS. Applied Graphene isn't some fly-by-night operation; it's backed by the "incubator" IP Group and grew from research laboratories at Durham University. Its boardroom is packed with boffins. But at present it only has £11,410 in annual revenue (and not much more in tangible assets), and it's only one of a number of companies rushing to commercialise graphene.

Then there are graphene funds. Yes, really. One that pops up a lot on Google is Viscount Resources. The idea behind this is that you give Viscount your money, which is then used to buy "physical graphene" (what does it look like, I wonder?) which is then stored in controlled and quality-assured conditions. If the price goes up – Viscount Resources predicts 20 per cent a year – you're quids in.

"If". But a lot of people expect the price of graphene to fall, not rise. That's generally what happens when something is commercialised, and production starts to benefit from economies of scale. In its 10 pages of risk warnings, Applied Graphene's prospectus refers somewhat long-windedly to "situations where new materials have been developed and the expansion of production capacity in advance of market demand has resulted in a decrease in the price of the material to a level where financial returns are limited".

"Limited". That's a nice way of putting it. I wonder if they were thinking of solar panels; as governments around the world started throwing money at renewable energy, unit panel manufacturing costs fell and prices collapsed. Financial returns have become very limited indeed. In some cases they have become negative limited.

Viscount Resources is based in Gibraltar, although it has a UK phone too. Its sales brochure is very similar to that of another graphene scheme, Capital Allocation Resources; the same photography is used in both.

There isn't much detail in either document about regulation, or investor protection either.

None of this means the companies are doing anything wrong, but combined with physical graphene's somewhat uncertain price prospects, it doesn't exactly fill me with confidence either.

There's a broader point about all of this. It's that innovation in itself is no guarantee of bumper returns, just as rapid economic growth in developing countries does not necessarily make equity investors richer. The lower levels of the UK stock market are littered with companies that talked a great talk about some great new product or process, but have somehow never quite turned it into cold, hard cash.

What makes for consistent shareholder returns is competitive advantage, high barriers to entry and pricing power – the "economic moats" of Buffett lore. My advice would be to focus on businesses that display those, and leave scientific breakthroughs to the scientists. Who knows, maybe one day they'll perfect alchemy.

[n3tleylucas] 04/12/2013 11:28

Ah, AGM (Karl) presented at Graphene LIVE USA 2013 a fortnight ago, a brief mention here;

"Applied Graphene Materials also focuses on a substrate-less CVD process and have definite plans to ramp up production. Applied Graphene Materials recently floated on the AIM aimed great initial market reception."

[n3tleylucas] 04/12/2013 11:20

Quite a thought provoking Guardian article on graphene and the lack of UK investment & development drive. Surprisingly the author didn't mention AGM and its ability to raise £11m gross, and demand was £22m, and MV is almost £80m! Don't these journos do their research?

[grahamstown] 30/11/2013 11:16

N3tleyLucas - thanks for mentioning STGR, I will post the article on the use of graphene in batteries there as well.

[miss ann thrope] 30/11/2013 09:20

Now this real technology, wow!

[n3tleylucas] 29/11/2013 20:27

Thanks for those grahamstown, and I see you've popped them on GRPH too. Off the top of me head I think it's STGR that is more closely aligned to the battery/automotive industry. This is currently developing relationships with household goods sectors and GRPH with the oil industry, but thanks anyway, always interesting to get a broader view on graphene and its uses in the fast changing sub-sector of speciality chemicals/materials.

[grahamstown] 29/11/2013 19:02

Automotive materials will have to start delivering in two key areas: weight, and strength. Graphene delivers in both - it has ten times the tensile strength of steel, despite being six times lighter. It's also twice as hard, yet has impressive flexibility too.
The University of Technology in Sydney has unveiled a sheet of graphene nano paper to demonstrate its strengh, despite being the same thickness as a regular sheet of paper.
The potential benefits of graphene are common to other advanced materials. You can use less graphene than you would steel without compromising on strength, which reduces weight and benefits performance, handling and economy. Graphene also has excellent thermal, electrical and mechanical properties so its use is potentially wide-ranging.

[grahamstown] 29/11/2013 18:35

Graphene--to recap--is considered one of the most important materials developed for many years. Nanoparticles of the material are built from single-atom-thick sheets of carbon--with incredibly strong bonds and a huge surface area that has seen them used widely in battery technology since its discovery.

Not only does the sulfur-graphene oxide cathode allow high charging and discharging rates, but its flexibility prevents electrode damage during the expansion and contraction process. This is further mitigated by an 'elastromeric binder'.

A new ionic liquid electrolyte also improves the battery chemistry and prevents the dissolution of lithium polysulfide particles, helping the battery charge and discharge at a faster rate. After 1,500 cycles, the battery retains over 96 percent coulombic efficiency--the efficiency with which electrons are transferred during the battery's cycles.

To read the full article, click on the link below :-

[old fool2] 28/11/2013 11:36

I like your charts, and helpful commentry to go with it. Keep it up.

[moneysage] 27/11/2013 22:29

Thanks N3stley

[jfacwc] 27/11/2013 10:48

thanks for the charts. :)

[thecat] 27/11/2013 08:13

volume good for this first thing as compared to yesterday

[n3tleylucas] 26/11/2013 23:55

moneysage,

You make good points, succinctly put. Prices are not strictly important atm for AGM (compared to let's say a daytrader of gold) as it is working with industrial partners to develop the material into their existing processes to add value, and will be doing so for some time. AGM have a low-cost model of production, hence the not-too-high-a-cost "infrastructure" capital raised.

How do you value a new (r&d phase) material and one of the 1st pure-play 100% focused quoted graphene producer/developer companies in the world at such an early stage of development? That depends on your temperament and your sense of adventure I suppose? Currently the market values AGM at £57m. Many will argue that's too high, and they may well have a point, but innovation and new technology (that works) will always be valued speculatively, sometimes too high, sometimes too low... rarely just right.

In the meantime... will this become a daytrading tool? Or has it already? Looking at the charts I suspect some are already noticing things. Big drop in volume may suggest people sat on their hands today... let's see what tomorrow brings.