Welsh graphene company to raise £10m on UK AIM to fund large scale production
13 March 2014
South Wales graphene company Haydale has announced plans to raise up to £10 million ($16.6 million) via an IPO on the UK's Alternative Investment Market.
The AIM listing, scheduled to take place in April, will fund the operation and development of Haydale's proprietary plasma technology which enables large scale production of graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs).
The company says the move demonstrates financial confidence in the commercialisation of graphene and the ability to provide a functionally viable product.
The Haydale plasma production system
Haydale has patents pending for a low temperature plasma (under 100 C) process that overcomes a key barrier to the functionalisation of large scale production of graphene nano Platelets (GNPs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The process can functionalise the graphene by attaching a range of standard and exotic chemical groups (eg fluorine). The plasma functionalisation process can be tailored to produce a wide range of surface modifications, including chemical groups suitable for bonding or repelling specific chemicals. This process improves compatibility between the nanomaterials and any matrix or binder material.
Ray Gibbs, CEO at Haydale, said: “At Haydale we believe the properties and potential of graphene will be realised, and that whatever form the supply is, dispersing it properly to make a real improvement is the issue at hand. The investment through the planned AIM listing will contribute significantly to the development and progression of our enabling, proprietary plasma technology, which is capable of being tailored to produce a wide range of surface modifications; substantially improving compatibility between the nanomaterials and any matrix or binder material.”
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP is the nominated adviser and Hume Capital Securities plc the financial adviser and broker to the listing. The Group has raised approximately £4.4 million in funding from private investors since 2010. The money raised from the proposed IPO will be used to expand the company’s nanomaterial functionalisation operations and may also be used for acquisition purposes or to form strategic alliances.
Haydale’s HDPlas range of GNPs and CNTs are functionalised through a proprietary plasma process which does not use wet chemistry and allows the general material structures to be maintained. The process can reduce material impurities inherent in the raw material and can repair defects in the base material. The process can functionalise with a range of standard and exotic chemical groups, allowing Haydale to match a product with the most appropriate functionalisation to meet customer requirements.
Source: Haydale