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[nemo19] 14/2/2020 11:42

And finally the link to the free 500 page manual:

Handbook of graphene manufacturing

Encompassing more than 1,500 references and the knowledge of 70 co-authors from EU-funded Graphene Flagship partners and associate members, the article aims to provide a single source of knowledge on graphene and related layered materials (GRMs).

[alchemy] 14/2/2020 11:41

TfL is not in the north though! But, roll of drums, I hope you're right.

[nemo19] 14/2/2020 11:40

From my previous post:

The manual was released by the Graphene Flagship consortium composed of universities and companies. See here:

Graphene Flagship publishes handbook of graphene manufacturing

Encompassing more than 1,500 references and the knowledge of 70 co-authors from EU-funded Graphene Flagship partners and associate members, the article aims to provide a single source of knowledge on graphene and related layered materials (GRMs).

Graphene is already being used in many commercial applications, with numerous new products on the horizon. However, lack of information on the correct preparation and processing is hindering its uptake. To tackle this challenge, Graphene Flagship researchers have produced a comprehensive guide entitled “Production and Processing of Graphene and Related Materials”, which has just been published by IOP Publishing in their journal 2D Materials. The article is published under an open access licence, which makes it free to read for everyone who is interested and, moreover, removes all restrictions on use and reuse.

The article condenses the knowledge acquired and developed by the Graphene Flagship over the past six years. With this publication, the Graphene Flagship will make this knowledge public as part of its long-term goal to assist in the development of graphene and related layered materials.

Andrea C. Ferrari, Graphene Flagship Science and Technology Officer stated: “Graphene Flagship researchers have already shown that at least 1,800 different layered materials exist — and only a handful of those have been investigated to date. This authoritative guide will help researchers in academia and industry plan their large scale and reproducible production of graphene, drawing from the experience developed on graphene itself.”

[schmally] 14/2/2020 11:39

With regards to HMG releasing funding for the Piccadilly line and the 4LM program, the change of chancellor yesterday is likely to be massively significant.

It's clear that Sajid Javid's team were reluctant to release the funding taps that Team Boris wanted to start flowing. His replacement Rishi Sunak however, is seen by many to be no more than a "yes" man who has just been installed to release the funds required by Boris to help demonstrate that he's serious about increased infrastructure spending.

I would not be surprised if there were some announcements regarding additional TFL funding very soon, with Polygrene orders from Aecom following shortly afterwards

[nemo19] 14/2/2020 11:37

Just found this from Euro news dated 13/2/20:

Graphene: Meet the material of the future that's 200 times stronger than steel


Graphene has been dubbed the material of the future for its unbelievable strength and the myriad of potential applications it offers and European researchers have just released the first-ever manual on how to produce it.

The manual was released by the Graphene Flagship consortium composed of universities and companies. Founded in 2013, it is one of the three big EU-funded science projects with a budget of over €1 billion until 2023.

The consortium hopes the manual will boost the uptake of the material which has the potential to revolutionise whole industries.

Graphene is a layer of carbon atoms obtained from graphite, which we can find, for example, in the tip of a pencil.

Arranged in a honeycomb-like pattern, it is 200 times stronger than steel, harder than diamond, and carries both heat and electricity better than any other material including gold or copper. And it's also a million times smaller than a strand of hair.

Seventy researchers participated in the elaboration of the free, 500-pages manual.

"It's a big book that encompasses the description of many of the most important methods to produce graphene and other two dimensional materials," Mar García Hernández, from Graphene Flagship told Euronews.

Researchers from Graphene Flagship have shown that at least 1,800 different layered materials exit but so far, only a few have truly been investigated.

"For any application of graphene or related materials, you need first to be able to make it. For this reason, a book or a paper that gives you precise details on how to make these materials, how to characterise them, how to transfer them from the good substrate to the final substrate is going to be very useful," Andrea Ferrari, Graphene Flagship's Science and Technology Officer told Euronews.

The material's flexibility and resilience mean it can be used in a variety of industries such as aeronautics, space exploration, medicine, energy or electronics.

Last December, Graphene Flagship partnered with some of Europe's biggest companies including Airbus, Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles, Lufthansa Technik, Siemens and ABB among others to take graphene-enabled prototypes to commercial applications.

One of the projects will develop state-of-the-art vision sensors, which could be critical for the safe functioning of self-driving cars while another will use graphene-based filters to remove contaminants such as pesticides and dangerous pathogens from drinking water

[club sandwich] 14/2/2020 11:37

"Just let RNSs speak for themselves" Or indeed the absence of RNSs...

[loglorry1] 14/2/2020 11:28

To those concerned about where I’ve gone, the answer is ‘nowhere’;. I’m just letting the latest off market farce play out - an act of desperation from those involved and highly illegal, by the way.

True believers shouldn’t need to resort to this - what happened to not worrying about the share price and simply waiting for orders to roll in?

To those not involved but are bullish on VRS, I’d just sound a note of caution. The people who are pushing any ‘news’ without an accompanying RNS are not your friends.

Just let RNSs speak for themselves.

[schmally] 14/2/2020 11:27

Lag, Good point, but I believe the benefits of the new sports apparel would be significantly less to elite sports than the running shoes and the mass market appeal would be more related to durability of the fabric, heat dissipation and a reduction of sweat absorption and bacterial build up preventing your kit stinking of BO.

No doubt there will be some minimal performance benefits to elite athletes, but that's probably not the major selling point for consumers for initial products. It would be more around comfort and garments lasting longer.

Future benefits will no doubt be the inclusion of printed electronics monitoring performance data, but again, this is unlikely to cause a concern regarding performance enhancement directly related to wearing the garment, simply improved performance data to enhance and improve training/diet, etc.

[rogerbridge] 14/2/2020 11:15

Morning all, steady as she goes. Exciting times ahead when the next rns is dropped.

[laginaneil] 14/2/2020 11:11

Morning Schmally,

This bit may change after the big fuss over running shoes:

'...plan to then launch to mass markets shortly afterwards..'

They talked about those shoes having to be available to the general public to buy

something like 6 weeks before the competition use.

[sandbag] 14/2/2020 11:03

mavfav,

WRT your comments about journalists, they don't appear to have changed much over the years:

www.collaborativefund.com/blog/when-you-change-the-world-and-no-one-notices/

[laginaneil] 14/2/2020 11:03

Hello 66,

That article is very interesting - thanks.

Need to get some polygrene for my 3D printer and see if I can print some
of this funny shape 'corale' stuff !

[schmally] 14/2/2020 11:00

So on the question of when orders will arrive, these are my thoughts (for what they are worth)

Aecom:

The joint Aecom/VRS event in Bristol was a diluted version of a major product launch originally planned by Aecom, which had to be postponed. Whilst the reasons have obviously not been divulged, it's clear the CNCT arches were initially being lined up for the Piccadilly line signalling upgrade and HMG funding for this project ceased in mid 2019. It's also clear that initial expectations by both Aecom and VRS, was that funding would continue and that orders would be placed last year. This was ultimately outside of VRS or Aecom's control.

With HMG now making far more positive noises regarding infrastructure spending, we should now be confident the Piccadilly signalling upgrade should be signed off soon, especially as TFL have complained they have purchased new trains which they can't currently run due to the restricted capacity of existing signalling and that they have already lost £600 million in revenue as a result of the delayed works. The upgrade contract is worth £2.4 billion, so this is a massive contract for all involved.

In addition to the 70km of Piccadily line there is also the 4LM program which will require new signalling for a further estimated 200 KM of track for the Circle, District, Hammersmith & Metropolitan lines.

I think it's reasonable to expect a steady stream of orders from Aecom for Polygrene over the next few years, for the arches required for these projects, which no doubt will also extend to other signalling contracts globally as the tech becomes established and more widely adopted.

Conclusion:

First orders dependent on HMG funding sign off (probably within 6 months) resulting in steady flow of orders and IMO high profit margins. Total year 1 revenue likely to be fairly modest, but should increase significantly over next 3 years

MAS

It now seems likely that at least one major global sports brand (Nike?, plus others potentially) have tested the Graphinks infused materials and are working towards product launches.

If it's Nike, it's highly likely they will use a major sporting event, such as the Euros, or the Olympics to showcase any new sportswear technology to gain maximum exposure, with a plan to then launch to mass markets shortly afterwards whilst public awareness remains high.

It's therefore likely, that we will see sports teams, or elite athletes showcasing Graphinks apparel in the summer with orders for Graphinks potentially starting from late Spring in preparation for major launches from Jun/Jul onwards.

IMO, this would be the fastest growth market for VRS in the short term, with potential high margins and high volumes. VRS would receive income from MAS for a share of the production revenue, plus royalties from any end brands for use of the Graphinks trademark.

It was suggested in the Cardiff investor event, that the use of Graphinks would not result in significant production cost increases and that graphinks infused garments may only a require a £10 premium, which for on-trend sportswear is insignificant for a high % of sportswear consumers.

These garments could sell in the hundreds of thousands and Graphinks can be produced relatively cheaply and production can be scaled up more easily than Nanene. Initial product launches would also quickly be followed up with further new innovative clothing/material products and revenues could ramp up to a few million very quickly with high profit margins.

Oil & Gas

It seems the initial testing achieved very positive results and that commercial discussions started at the beginning of the year. Contract negotiations are unlikely to be concluded within 3 months and could take longer depending on the complexities of any arrangement.

I don't believe any initial order will be hugely significant in terms of revenues, but it should result in a steady increasing revenue stream once the technology could become established. This contract is more about illustrating that graphene now has to be taken seriously by all players in the industry, which will no doubt lead to new applications and further contracts.

China

All the information available suggests that multiple Chinese provinces now have aspirations to establish their own graphene valleys to help with the China's hugely ambitious 5 year growth and development plans.

There is no doubt VRS are at the forfront of the Sino-British graphene valley collaboration plans, but also that any negotiations involving an ever increasing number of parties will be hugely complex and fraught with risk if any final agreement is not absolutely watertight.

I believe the UK and China will reach agreement (be under no illusion, this requires governmental agreement and not simply VRS agreement), but it's impossible to estimate a timeframe for any final agreement to be concluded. It's probably fair to suggest however, that they must be reasonably close to either agreeing terms or ceasing discussions if nothing is agreed within the next 6 months.

There is unfortunately no way of gauging the impact of any China agreement in terms of revenue estimates. All we know, is that China's appetite for high quality graphene is insatiable and that many of their development plans hinge on the cost efficiencies and benefits of using graphene.

I think it's safe to assume that China will require hundreds of tonnes annually for many years, so if it's VRS producing it, then the amount of zero's at the end of any annual future revenue estimate could be significant

Whilst the likes of Club like to bleat endlessly about the delays to finalising contracts, it's clear that Neill may have had reasonable expectations that revenues would have started to flow by now, but that unforeseen matters outside of his control delayed matters.

[club sandwich] 14/2/2020 10:46

66seq - all that potential, yet that rank incompetent Rickets simply unable to monetise even the smallest part of it. Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.

[66sequoia] 14/2/2020 10:38

hTTps://news.mit.edu/2017/3-d-graphene-strongest-lightest-materials-0106 bonkers!

[johnveals] 14/2/2020 10:12

Flatcoat - multiply that 0.5p per bottle by billions of bottles etc then add in the marketing benefits of going ‘green’.

[laginaneil] 14/2/2020 10:09

Hello Flatcoat,

Many things to consider using Nanene.

Could it flow better into the mould, faster production with less plastic, does
it cool faster, less plastic raw material to transport in, less weight of full
bottles to transport to end user all down supply chain...

[club sandwich] 14/2/2020 10:01

occultusverum - all just potential until the deals are signed...

[occultusverum1] 14/2/2020 09:55

Flatcoat1, Unilever are actively pursuing improvements to their environmental impact. Take a look at what they are doing here:

Just think what would happen if Versarien were able to work with PET [polyethylene terephthalate] suppliers such as Indorama (They supply PET to Unilever).

[squire007] 14/2/2020 09:55

Now where is that Nomad office again, been so long best pop in and say hi ..... bosh :-)

[squire007] 14/2/2020 09:49

Plastic tax will force one time use out - gone

[par4artthou] 14/2/2020 09:35

What a great post there from evergreen.
That's how to communicate on a bb, not by screaming and ranting like six year old who can't get his own way.

[flatcoat1] 14/2/2020 09:27

Unilever, or any other plastic manufacture won't bother buying graphene just yet in my opinion. If it costs less than 1p for the plastic bottle then a 50% reduction in plastic won't help that much, especially if the graphene cost similar amount.But should the government bring in a plastic tax where companies are taxed on how much plastic they produce then I believe this would develop big time

[vice versa] 14/2/2020 09:24

https://uk.fashionnetwork.com/news/Wearable-tech-moves-closer-with-graphene-solving-the-battery-problem,858392.html

[club sandwich] 14/2/2020 09:20

Vs9 - if it's commercially-significant VRS *have* to RNS an order, even if they don't say who it's for...