Haydale Technologies and Imagine Intelligent Materials have signed a strategic agreement to establish graphene-based conductive coatings capability in North America. The agreement includes:
- Haydale to acquire exclusive license to Imagine IM’s “Plant In A Box” graphene processing technology
- Establishes US supply chain for revolutionary graphene-based conductive coatings that are purpose-designed for global US$22bn geosynthetics marketplace
- Coatings product proven in Australian market and being installed as part of Coal Seam Gas containment systems to enable hole detection pre-final commissioning
- Haydale will import inventory of imgne® X3 to support planned field trials and early adopter orders
The signing of a Letter of Intent (LOI) between Haydale and Imagine IM marks the first step in establishing a strategic collaboration between two companies that are leading globally the development of commercial applications using graphene. In parallel with this, Haydale has issued a Purchase Order to Imagine IM for a quantity of Imgne X3 that will be sufficient to enable 50,000m2 of conductive geotextile to be manufactured. This will ensure that there is available supply in the US ahead of the commissioning of a full-scale plant at Haydale’s manufacturing facility in Greer, SC.
The first full-scale Imagine IM graphene research plant was officially opened in August 2017 by Australia’s Assistant Minister for Industry, Craig Laundy. This followed the establishment of a pilot plant in 2016. The Assistant Minister, opening the plant, said: “Imagine IM have demonstrated a capacity to both develop and manufacture highly effective end products which have revolutionary implications for manufacturing industries in Australia. They’ve done that by embracing new technologies, linking with global value chains, and developing high value-added products.”
The agreement between Haydale and Imagine IM Is intended to enable more industrial end-users to accelerate the take up of graphene-based composites and coatings into global advanced manufacturing supply chains. It will also mean that production of materials that make geosynthetic materials “smart” will be fast tracked in the US.
Chris Gilbey, CEO of Imagine IM said, “Combining Imagine IM’s proven graphene manufacturing processes with Haydale’s advanced materials manufacturing expertise will be a significant step toward delivering disruptive graphene-based coatings solutions into the North American market. It comes on the back of successful product installations in Australia and a full order book for product to our licensee Geofabrics Australasia, the leading textile manufacturer in Australia.
Ray Gibbs, CEO of Haydale Graphene Industries PLC, said “This is a very important strategic step in Haydale’s global growth plan. This partnership builds on our existing nano dispersion know how and patented material doping technology and now extends our graphene footprint in the US. It also gives Haydale direct access to the world’s largest market for coated geosynthetics. This is just the what we see as a major opportunity for further collaboration with Imagine IM on a wide range of graphene enhanced applications.”
Trevor Rudderham, President and CEO of Haydale Technologies Inc, said, “We are very pleased to sign this strategic agreement with Imagine IM. They are an impressive company with world leading product and process technology in the graphene arena. This will be Haydale Technologies first graphene related manufacturing initiative in the US and is an exciting development for us. Our team in Greer, SC has the process engineering, application expertise and sales capability in advanced materials to ensure this will be a very successful endeavour for both Haydale and Imagine IM.”