Two companies are trying to break the barrier of mass commercial graphene production.
Graphene Laboratories Inc., a manufacturer and supplier of graphene, entered into an agreement with Lomiko Metals Inc. (TSX-V: LMR) with the sole aim of making graphene a commercially viable product that can be more widely used in current technologies.
Graphene Labs will process Lomiko’s graphite samples by converting them into graphene. The agreement is also for the purpose of focusing on cost-effective measures that will allow more companies to incorporate graphene into everyday operations.
The specifics of the agreement detail Graphene Labs’ role in developing a purification method for flake graphite and converting it specifically for graphene production. The company will provide technological consulting for graphene and its derivative products.
Lomiko has an additional option of providing equity financing to its partner on an exclusive level, provided the company raises $500,000 within eight months, $1,000,000 within 12 months, and $2,000,000 within 18 months. If the funding goals are not met, then Lomiko will lose its exclusive rights, but it can continue to provide financing on a non-exclusive basis.
Graphene is an energy storage source that can be extracted from graphite. It is a compound known to increase conductivity for hardware and other electrical devices, including lithium-ion and ultra-capacitor batteries.
Graphite is made of loosely knit carbon layers, but when extracted as graphene it becomes a tight hexagon that can be 200 times stronger than steel when processed for the construction industry. It has also proven to be a good way to expand tech storage data.
Graphene Laboratories, Inc. is located in Calverton, New York and is a provider of 2D materials around the world. The company also runs Graphene Supermarket and provides consulting work, prototype development, and other services. The company is known for providing graphene to universities and laboratories for research.
Lomiko Metals Inc. is a Canadian-based company that specializes in the exploration stage of graphene technology. It also has drilling interests in the Quarte Miles Graphite Property and the Vines Lake Property – areas known for large graphite discoveries. Graphite samples from Quarte Miles will be converted into graphene by Lomiko’s venture partner.
The companies involved in the agreement have somewhat different roles within the graphene sector, but each can complement each other’s business. By merging the manufacturing and research background of Graphene Laboratories with Lomiko’s drilling and extraction experience, the companies are in good positions to promote graphene while also standing a chance of becoming pioneers.
Role of Graphene
Graphene itself is known as a milestone in the energy storage community. It can add 10 times the power to normal batteries and will allow batteries to charge 10 times faster – something that will add more value to automobile batteries in electric cars and solar storage batteries.
With Tesla’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) Model S becoming a popular product on the automobile market, as well as the increased use of solar power among residents and utility companies, graphene will have a much more pertinent role in the coming years, if current energy storage trends continue.
Graphene could be a key component in giving electric vehicles more staying power on the road and introducing shorter charge times. As solar energy becomes a better alternative for many consumers, graphene storage capacity may convince more residents to dump their conventional utility providers and switch to solar energy.
The material even has use within the oil and gas industries – having the potential to be used as a floating sensor for the detection of natural gas and oil reserves.
A graphene-based floating center could very well lead to the discovery of the next big oil and gas field, on par with the Bakken of the West or the Eagle Ford of South Texas.
Graphene is one piece of technology that can permeate multiple layers of the energy industry, and it is something that can attract investors and companies of different strides and markets.
And that is why Lomiko and Graphene Labs are trying to get in on commercial production earlier than competing companies. Graphene itself is a long way from becoming a mainstream energy storage source, but it will take passion and zeal on the part of companies to get a head-start on graphene marketing and production.
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Graphene Energy Investing
There are different ways to go about graphene investing, and it all depends on your field of interest.
Aside from its potential in lithium-ion batteries, researchers and companies believe the graphene energy sector can play a larger role in ultra-capacitors, which also use nano-based technology to release energy on a faster basis. This newer form of technology relies on electrolyte charges as opposed to the chemically-induced variety one would find in traditional batteries. Ultra-capacitors store less energy but release more output in a shorter time frame than chemical batteries.
Ultra-capacitors will be vital in changing the nature of the renewable energy sector and automobiles that run on electric power.
And nano technology is considered the wave of the future like you wouldn’t believe – so much so that futurist Ray Kurzweil predicts humans will be able to achieve immortality with it by 2045!
But within the realm of energy storage, graphene and nano technology will only be achieved in real world use by combining graphene’s properties with traditional battery storage, bringing down costs. This will prevent other industries from having to make so many changes to business operations in order to accommodate graphene-based technology.
The problem is combining traditional batteries with electrode-based storage. For electric cars, it is something that may require more DC and AC components – making the vehicle itself more expensive. That is why researchers are hoping graphene will bridge the gap between cost and quality.
Graphene is a rare commodity, and only a limited number of companies in the world have access to it. That is why graphene stocks hold value out there, and because of graphite consolidation in the Chinese minding industry, this mineral will become more valuable over time.
While graphene is not bursting at the seams in the energy industry, it is a good idea to follow this commodity’s development to see if it will demonstrate practical use for energy storage.
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