Directa Plus, a producer and supplier of graphene-based products for use in consumer and industrial markets, has provided a trading update for the year ended 31 December 2017. The company finished the year strongly, increasing the number of customers, especially in the textile and environmental segments.

Last year, the company also entered into a Joint Development Agreement with Alfredo Grassi to assess the benefits of incorporating Directa Plus’ graphene into its workwear products. The agreement successfully progressed into a signed EUR 0.6m contract in September 2017 for the supply of Graphene Plus (G+) materials.

The company believes this order represents the largest amount of textile material to be treated with graphene nanoplatelets by any company to date.

New products

“We continue to operate at the forefront of the rapidly developing graphene market that has seen Directa Plus consolidate its position as one of the leading companies in the textile and environmental segments. Our unique and proven technology, combined with commercial effectiveness and our ability to produce graphene-based products at high tonnage, continues to place us at a significant advantage over emerging competitors, many of whom have yet to scale their operations,” commented Giulio Cesareo, CEO of Directa Plus.

“This year has been characterised by the development and introduction of ground-breaking new products and marked performance enhancements to existing materials when combined with our G+ graphene. As a result, our commercial engagement with customers has grown and deepened significantly, and we expect to announce further material orders, additional collaborations and partnerships over the coming year.”

Progress in commercialisation of Grafysorber

Industrial field testing of Grafysorber, completed in December 2017 in an oil treatment plant of one of the largest oil and gas groups in southern Europe, demonstrated better-than-expected results in the continuous decontamination of produced water.

Grafysorber is the company’s graphene-based product for environmental applications, in the removal of hydrocarbons from contaminated water emanating from oil and gas activities.

Grafysorber’s 3D structure, made by graphene sheets, acts as a sponge to capture the hydrocarbons that contaminate the water. It has been demonstrated to be at least five times more effective than the technologies presently used for water decontamination, adsorbing more than 100 times its own weight of oily pollutant. Grafysorber is also eco-sustainable: it is derived from a natural raw material, graphite, and is produced in a chemical-free process; the absorbed oil can be easily recovered to be recycled or disposed of separately; and Grafysorber is itself reusable and recyclable.

Certifications

Also last year, the company achieved independent certifications that G+ textiles are non-irritating and safe for human skin. This includes a new hypoallergenic certification, received in December 2017, confirming that G+ textiles do not cause allergic reaction in human skin.

The company’s production process is chemical-free and these certifications are key for the widespread adoption of G+ materials in the textiles industry and are an additional source of competitive advantage. The company also launched an Advanced Development Area (ADA) dedicated to water treatment solutions, textile developments, new and enhanced grades of G+ materials, and material analysis.

www.directa-plus.com