Versarien Share Discussion Threads

[ellissj] 23/12/2018 14:07

I see miton issued a tr1 re selling in rbw on 1st nov too. Best ellis.

[superg1] 23/12/2018 13:41

I cut that short as the logic quickly stacked up.

There are already recent Miton Tr1s out there to show the selling of shares for Zotefoams and Frontier.

On that basis more or less nailed on that Miton have been active re the Microtrust fund shares re VRS.

My guess is they dumped a load each time we had news as on each news event the MMs seemed to get a supply.

[axotyl] 23/12/2018 13:41

What are the figs, Super? % of Miton's total holding, or % of the company's shares?

[superg1] 23/12/2018 13:30

As forecast and promised

The Miton data sheet is out for November and as forecast VRS are no longer in th top 20 holdings.

As sated Miton were selling VRS in that fund during November. Due to problems with that fund I anticipate it continues into December.

They had 844k share going into December in that fund.

I'll now check out the liquidity of the ones they list as some are surely going to get hammered when Miton need to cover redemption requests.

As below for anyone that may have some of these in your portfolio. To cover redemptions last time around Miton sold VRS and WEY which had the gains and volumes for them to sell into.

1. Kape Technologies plc 3.9
2. Aquis Exchange plc 3.8
3. Zotefoams plc 3.3
4. Frontier IP Group plc 3.2
5. Cerillion plc 3.0
6. Corero Network Security plc 2.8
7. Kromek Group plc 2.5
8. BATM Advanced Comms Ltd 2.5
9. Bilby plc 2.2
10. Nanoco Group plc 2.2
11. Mind Gym plc 1.8
12. Science in Sport plc 1.6

13. Conygar Investment Co plc
14. Diversified Gas & Oil plc
15. Scientific Digital Imaging plc 1.5
16. CML Microsystems plc
17. Simec Atlantis Energy Ltd 1.5
18. RockRose Energy plc 1.5
19. Van Elle Holdings plc 1.5
20. Eland Oil & Gas plc 1.4

[superg1] 23/12/2018 13:06

No problems my end either note sent re when they were out for delivery too.

I can't test them, they are not for me.

[ewads] 23/12/2018 12:49

Looks like your the only one Alch. You are unlucky or have you been a naughty boy.
Mine were ordered, confirmed, delivered in two days and followed up with e-mail from Callum.

Only snag is that they are Chrisamas presents and not for me!

[grabster] 23/12/2018 12:11

Superg1 - Do they have a lab of their own there? Or merely access to a shared one?

[ellissj] 23/12/2018 10:30

Geic ? 2 words per neill. "Game on!" Vrs sitting pretty imo. Best ellis

[superg1] 23/12/2018 09:19

Rock

Vrs have a lab there as per previous news so will have staff there at some point.

[grabster] 23/12/2018 07:38

Festario - I am happy with the distinctive word Versarien - searches for which bring up results related to the company. (Apart from a stray dragon reference or two). Companies who choose to use generic terms in their name ('First Graphene', etc) produce thousands of annoyingly unrelated search results in which the words ... first graphene ... have nothing to do with the company.

[rockraven] 23/12/2018 06:55

Tomduck - that FT article says "We talked to five people about their jobs at GEIC"

NR doesn't work there. I'm not sure if Versarien have a fulltime employee based there yet? Nor am I sure that they will have. Does anyone else here know how the company intends exploiting its involvement at GEIC? Will it involve basing an employee there fulltime? Companies have to pay for use of the facility; some I guess will throw more money into it than others.

[tomduck] 22/12/2018 21:46

Shame Neill and Versarien are not in the FT article

[serratia] 22/12/2018 20:45

Spike,

I also run Stax headphones, will be interested in your comments.

[axotyl] 22/12/2018 19:56

FT article 20dec18

The people developing graphene on a big scale - Andy Bounds

GEIC - A £60m centre in Manchester brings together industry and academics to advance its use.

By 2027, the worldwide market for graphene-enabled products is predicted to be worth $25bn - Bloomberg

What is it like to work at the forefront of human knowledge? Researchers and company employees are finding out as the £60m Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre opens in Manchester.

Graphene was first discovered at the University of Manchester in 2004. The material — lighter and stronger than steel and also a good conductor — is a one-atom thick layer of carbon.

Researchers are studying the application of it to products including running shoes, batteries, wearable biosensors, paint, thermometers and cycle helmets.

But researchers have struggled to fashion the two-dimensional substance into a form that can be manipulated or bonds easily with other materials on a big scale.

At the GEIC, a collaboration between industry and academics that opened earlier this month, researchers hope to bridge that gap. It could influence thousands of other products from e-paper to biomedical devices, to membranes, to salt from seawater, as well as lightweight aircraft. The worldwide market for graphene-enabled products is predicted to be worth $25bn by 2027, the GEIC says.

We talked to five people about their jobs at GEIC — and their hopes for the future.

Maria Iliut, founder and chief technical officer of Grafine
Start-up founder

Maria Iliut, the creator of start-up Grafine, was the only student working with graphene when she took her PhD at the University of Cluj-Napoca in Romania in 2010. “We did not have any, so I had to ‘rediscover’ it and produce my own. It was a three-year process with lots of mistakes,” she recalls.

She achieved her PhD and it seemed natural to move to Manchester, centre of the graphene world. In 2014, she approached academics there and they asked her to help with a project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation wanted a graphene-enhanced condom to help prevent Aids. They believed men would be more likely to use a lighter, more sensitive condom.

It did not work out but Ms Iliut moved on to another product. She helped find the right mix of graphene and rubber for Inov8, a UK business, to create a running shoe that was lighter, longer lasting and has better grip.

The work inspired Ms Iliut, 35, to set up her own company with university support. Grafine will help companies integrate graphene into products using the facilities at the GEIC. “Every polymer is different and we will fine-tune the graphene to work with the polymer,” Ms Iliut says. “We are recruiting two other people and I expect to have 10 in the second year if we get the investment.

“So far with graphene there have been lots of promises. With the GEIC we can do more than just promises.”

Nathan Feddy, research technician at the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre, Manchester university
Research technician

Nathan Feddy is among the 40 people hired by the university to run the GEIC. The research technician will assist companies wanting to make composites with graphene for use in lightweight aircraft, sports equipment, clothing and other purposes.

Mr Feddy, 26, studied metallurgy and mechanical engineering at Birmingham university. After his masters degree he returned to his hometown of Manchester and got a job with a financial services company — but wanted to return to engineering. “When I got the job here I did a lap of honour round the house. I could not believe I got the job. It is my passion.”

Since June, he has been working to get the equipment installed and learn how to use it. He is one of 10 technicians who will work with the companies paying an annual fee to use the GEIC. “I am going to work on some of my own concepts too,” he says. “There is so much potential.” He will also write a regular blog to promote his work: the UK has a shortage of technicians, who are vital to research.

Andy Goodwin, chief technology officer of First Graphene
Chief technology officer

Andy Goodwin has worked in materials research for 35 years, including 23 years at Dow Corning, the US chemicals company. He knows more than most about using graphene in products as he was hired by Thomas Swan, a chemicals business in north-east England that pioneered its use.

Its Elicarb Graphene Powder and Elicarb Graphene Dispersions can be used in display screens, conductive inks and heat-resistant coatings.

First Graphene, an Australian company, headhunted Mr Goodwin when it decided it needed a Manchester presence to market its own graphene, produced from a graphite mine in Sri Lanka. It is hiring four staff to work at the GEIC.

“Manchester really is the home of graphene. The facility here is second to none and it offers the opportunity to interface with industrial partners that could become our customers.” First graphene is one of three tier one partners of the GEIC that get guaranteed access to its facilities and staff.

“I am interested in new technology and this is as new as you can get,” Mr Goodwin says. His main job is to find UK customers and help First Graphene list on the London Stock Exchange. The Perth-based company is listed in Australia but “UK investors are more supportive of graphene stocks,” he says.

Suelen Barg, lecturer in structural materials at the National Graphene Institute, Manchester university
Lecturer in materials

Suelen Barg’s interest in graphene has taken her round the world. The Brazilian took a first degree in material science at the Federal University of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. That led to a PhD in Bremen in Germany and post-doctoral research at Imperial College London. But like many who are fascinated by graphene, she knew she was destined for Manchester.

In 2015 she got a job as a lecturer there. Her specialism is turning 2D graphene into 3D structures. This is vital to create longer lasting batteries, improved capacitors and composite materials, and she will work with companies at the GEIC to improve products, using a 3D printer to test prototype parts.

Ms Barg, 35, also has to deliver 30 lectures a term and some tutorials. That has got more demanding since student tuition fees in the UK tripled to £9,000 after 2012. “The students want a lot more interaction. You spend a lot more time planning the lecture. You have to be more responsive. We have to run a discussion board where the students go on and ask things and get answers.”

While she enjoys teaching, research is her main passion and she would like to set up her own business one day.

“My goal is to try to take this research to the next level and create products.”

Phil Hirst may have a PhD in materials and metallurgy but his current preoccupations are more prosaic. Is the secure door system working, do the toilets flush and are there enough desks for the new staff?

Mr Hirst took over the GEIC building as a shell and is responsible for installing £8.5m of scientific equipment, some of which is unique. As he sits down to chat, hardly five minutes pass before a worker grabs him for a chat.

“The buck stops with me,” he says. Now 50, he has long experience setting up and running laboratories, including the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Research Agency.

Manchester university recruited him more than a year ago. The GEIC facility handles toxic chemicals, has equipment that operates at thousands of degrees centigrade and needs to be secure while allowing collaborators in.

“It is a challenge,” Mr Hirst says. “Business engagement on this scale is new for the university. There are large numbers of clients to work with. We have to provide the best and get value for money for the university and our funders.”

New kit includes a roll to roll machine, like a printing press, that will transfer graphene created on a sheet directly to another material, speeding up production.

“This is the first time a lot of this equipment has ever been used. It is going to be an interesting journey,” says Mr Hirst. With that he is off to check on those toilets.

FT subscriptions are available from £1/month here: (Well worth reading the comments resulting from the article)

[bazzerp] 22/12/2018 19:09

Two replies from Callum - Customer care !

[ellissj] 22/12/2018 17:13

It seems gnano were also at the idtechex show in cali last month. A pic posted by david kerr on thursday shows the stand no Z27 (in tweet no 1). Which is referenced in the 2nd tweet from the show. I hope they had plenty of interest. Certainly the meetings in london on thursday impressed david by sound of it ! Glalth. Best ellis

Tweet no 1:-

David Kerr @DFK007

"Great day out in London with Roberto, Alejandra @gnanomat and @Nanosteve1 (picture from IDTECHEX show)at meetings that blew my mind away."



Tweet no 2:-

David Kerr Retweeted

"Versarien® plc is attending @IDTechExShow 2018 - Santa Clara Convention Center, CA, USA - 11/ 14-15 /18. Visit us at # Booth - Z27 # VRS HOR - Dr Steven Hodge will be presenting in the Exhibition Theatre - "Graphene Enhanced Products" - 11:10 - 11:30 - 11/15/18 (link: hxxps://www.idtechex.com/usa2018/show/en/agenda-extra) idtechex.com/usa2018/show/e…"

[ellissj] 22/12/2018 17:05

I agree shavers, europes bet on diesel went wrong and now they are playing catch up on EV's. Too late into li-ion battery tech, they must seek to be competitive in next gen ev battery tech to survive the disruptive shake up in the automotive sector that transition to ev production poses. Aimo. Best ellis

[alchemy] 22/12/2018 16:58

They asked a French Professor how thick our material was .Il a dit "rien" .

[axotyl] 22/12/2018 16:53

Versa is some FitBit gadget....might be confusing...

[johnveals] 22/12/2018 16:50

Currently listening to through the MDs. Amazing depth and clarity.

[johnveals] 22/12/2018 16:48

Nope. Versarien is just right. Sounds very Sci-Fi to me.

[festario] 22/12/2018 16:42

I hope they change the company name to something simple like Versa, a word that just trips off the tongue like Apple, or Tesla or Nike. See what I mean?

[johnveals] 22/12/2018 16:38

Michael McCloud "Treetop Flyer" through MD Founders Edition. OMG