Haydale has announced that Haydale and Everpower International Holdings Co. Ltd, a New York-based investment company, have agreed subject to contract, to enter into a collaboration agreement. Everpower has conditionally agreed to make a strategic investment in Haydale of £3.26 million to acquire a 9.9 per cent. shareholding, through its subsidiary Fu Xing New Materials Development (Heze) Co., Ltd (“Everpower”).
A majority stake in Cambridge Graphene Ltd., a spin-out company from the University of Cambridge, has been acquired by Versarien plc. Cambridge Graphene develops inks based on graphene and related materials using processes developed at the Cambridge Graphene Centre. The spin-out company has commercialized graphene inks for novel technology applications.
Graphene ultracapacitor manufacturer Skeleton Technologies has received €15 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The EIB loan comes under the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). The EFSI-backed financing will allow the company to finance the R&D for the further development of its products and systems. “This EIB loan is an important milestone for the company, not only providing more financial power to achieve our goals, but also serving as a sign of trust for our customers and partners,” says Skeleton CEO Taavi Madiber. Skeleton has now raised €41.7 million in funding. The new money allows Skeleton to invest heavily in manufacturing and R&D. It plans to invest in a new electrode manufacturing plant near Dresden.
Directa Plus, a leading producer and supplier of graphene-based products for use in consumer and industrial markets, has been awarded a grant by the European Regional Development Fund via the Lombardy regional government in respect of a EUR 1 million project for technological innovation in smart fabrics. The project is a collaboration between Directa Plus, Novaresin and Soliani companies and the Politecnico of Milan university, with Directa Plus as project leader. The project will focus on the development of the company’s G+ membranes to enhance the thermal and electrical performance of textiles for fashion applications. Imagine IM (Imagine Intelligent Materials Pty Ltd), a developing graphene applications company based in Sydney, Australia, has raised $2 million in new capital. Imagine IM is focused on developing conductive coatings and sensing technologies for industrial textiles.
QD Solar has closed Series A funding led by DSM Venturing with participation from existing investors, KAUST Innovation Fund and MaRS Innovation. QD Solar is a winner of the 2016 SunRISE TechBridge Challenge, a competition organized by Royal DSM, Fraunhofer, and Greentown Labs to realize innovations in Solar Energy. The first QD Solar product, an insert into conventional silicon solar panels, has potential to increase energy output of solar panels by 20%. The product is based on QD Solar’s world leading quantum dot technology that captures infrared energy that is currently wasted. The development of this technology is also supported by project funding that was announced in March 2016 from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC).
The Guanghui Technology Group (GTG) and Quantum Materials Asia Co., Ltd., (QMA), a joint venture of GTG and Quantum Materials Corp (QTMM), have received investment from the China Government Guidance Fund of 150 Million RMB ($21.8 million) in GTG and QMA. Quantum Materials Asia was originally established in Hong Kong in September 2016 with registered initial capital investment of 100 million RMB (US$14.4 million). QMA will build two Quantum Dot production line and application development centers in the Beijing and Changde Special Economic Development Zones.
