Beware of new material claims - the case of graphene

An example of high output Graphene production plant.

Graphene production plant in China.

Chinese materials company opens new graphene plant in Heilongjiang

Chinese coke company Baotailong New Materials has completed construction of a USD$9.6 million graphene production project in the north of the country and has launched trial-stage operations.

Baotailong completed all work on the facility located in its hometown of Qitaihe in northern Heilongjiang province at the end of last month, the firm said in a statement. The plant boasts an annual graphene output of 50 tons.

Graphene production plant in Canada.

NanoXplore logoCanada-based NanoXplore recently announced a positive feasibility study for its graphene production plant. The company said that the independent feasibility study highlighted several improvement as compared to the project’s preliminary economic assessment (PEA).

NanoXplore is planning to build a 10,000 metric ton/year graphene production plan, which is currently the largest in the world. NanoXplore plans to offer graphene for $10/kg (USD$8/kg) starting from Jan 2020 under the GrapheneBlack brand.

and,

Graphene-Info, based in Israel, claims graphene is “set to revolutionize a lot of industries, including sensors, batteries, conductors, displays, electronics, energy generation, medicine and more.” The Home of Graphene from the University of Manchester has a marvelous video explaining graphene and its endless possible applications.

There are some 100 pure graphene companies (about 15 are public) largely sustained by joint partnerships and investments, i.e., support from legacy corporations, mining companies, government investments, and venture funds. These start-ups are financially risky with sparse sales and no profits. Three years ago, The Graphene Council warned investors, beware of “graphene play” stock investments that may be scam companies. Nevertheless, graphene research and development is turning into an exciting new industry with potential for changing the manufacture of products and their sustainability.

Israeli researchers are also investigating graphene’s value. For example, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and University of Western Australia researchers have developed a new process for use in energy storage and other material applications that is faster, potentially scalable and surmounts some of the current graphene production limitations. Yaniv Katan, a scientist at Technion, worked on an international team of scientists discovering new ways to turn electricity into light using graphene.

China can’t seem to get dog food right, I don’t think I’d put much trust in their Graphene......Jim

China is technically underrated. In fact, they hold the current distance record for quantum teleportation. They are also rather adept at making iPhones and iPads. All tennis racquets are made in China, including Head Graphene racquets. Besides, nobody says you have to buy Graphene from China as there is a boatload of countries involved in mass production. Duh! Everybody wants a piece of the action.

100% geoff.  I've known about graphene for at least five or six years.  Many start-up companies tout their investment value in future graphene medical uses (too many small companies for me to invest in).  There's so much graphene around, just look at the cheap prices on Amazon by the gallon.

Despite only a "claim" in using graphene, SR and PP are doing something right in their products because they work GREAT!  I'll trust two totally different companies "claiming" graphene use with great results before wanting proof of graphene in their products.

The trick is how to weaponize Graphene and finding appropriate applications, neither of which is as easy as falling off a log. It’s not really something the typical DIYer would even think of tackling. On the other hand, some applications appear to be pretty darn doable. 🤗