The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
Metal Tech News - November 25, 2024
From lightweight and strong body parts to longer lasting and safer batteries, graphene has enormous potential to enhance the cars of the future.
Hydrograph's Hyperion detonation technology produces high-purity and customizable graphene.
Kjirstin Breure
A flurry of partnerships and purchase orders announced last week by HydroGraph Clean Power Inc. demonstrates graphene's growing commercial applications in the automotive and green energy sectors, as well as the Kansas-based company's rising popularity as a supplier of this wonder material.
Made from a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal honeycomb lattice, graphene is an extremely strong, incredibly lightweight, highly flexible, and exceptionally conductive nanomaterial with the potential to revolutionize next generation electronics, batteries, and automobiles. Realizing graphene's commercial potential, however, has been held back by difficulties in producing a high-quality and defect-free supply in large quantities and at a reasonable price.
Hydrograph's serendipitous discovery that you can consistently produce high-purity and customizable graphene by simply filling a chamber with hydrocarbon and oxygen and igniting it is changing the market dynamics and capturing the attention of global manufacturers.
Just last week, a global automotive company ordered four graphene products from Hydrograph, followed by two other companies expanding their strategic partnerships to accelerate the development and commercialization of graphene-enhanced battery materials.
"These projects represent the type of high-value advanced materials applications feasible only with HydroGraph's exceptionally pure and precision-engineered graphene products," said HydroGraph Clean Power CEO Kjirstin Breure.
Hydrograph's Hyperion detonation technology produces high-purity and customizable graphene.
On Nov. 18, a yet-to-be-named global automaker ordered four pristine and novel graphene materials produced by HydroGraph's patented Hyperion explosion synthesis process.
The Kansas-based graphene manufacturer said this order is an extension of its automotive composite improvement program introduced earlier this year.
So far, three successful trials have been completed for integrating graphene into automotive components.
Leveraging the superlative properties graphene has to offer, lightweight and durable composites with features such as enhanced thermal and electrical conductivity can be engineered for automotive applications.
In September, HydroGraph announced that it had filed U.S. patent applications for graphene-coated hollow glass microsphere technology. These hollow glass bubbles with a graphene outer shell have several potential applications, including a lightweight filler in plastic parts for automobiles.
Kjirstin Breure
"This innovation opens new possibilities for lightweight, high-strength materials, representing a significant leap in material science," said Breure.
With the global automotive composites market forecast to grow by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.1% to roughly $26.1 billion by 2033, this offers an expanding market for HydroGraph.
Ongoing testing by a major automaker indicates the potential that future cars may be enhanced with graphene made with HydroGraph's patented explosion synthesis process.
"We are excited to expand our work with this global automotive customer based on the quality of our nanomaterials designed to meet the multi-functional specifications required in these programs," the company's CEO said.
Batteries and supercapacitors for electric vehicles and renewable energy storage is another global market sector with enormous growth potential for graphene.
Graphene has shown the potential to enhance the lifespan, charging characteristics, and safety parameters of lithium batteries for EVs and other applications.
Hydrograph and NEI Corp., an established supplier of specialty materials to the battery industry, have teamed up to accelerate the adoption of graphene additives in the battery industry.
This partnership aims to develop innovative co-branded materials and products for applications such as lithium-ion and lithium-silicon batteries.
"This collaboration leverages HydroGraph's proprietary fractal graphene technology alongside NEI's expertise in battery materials, to address the rising demand for advanced solutions that enhance battery performance and drive next-generation energy storage," said Breure.
At the same time, HydroGraph is supplying Volfpack Energy with graphene for supercapacitors engineered to help store solar energy and stabilize power grids in Asia.
Initial testing demonstrated that supercapacitors enhanced with HydroGraph's fractal graphene deliver a fourfold increase in the capacity to store an electrical charge, compared to standard versions.
"HydroGraph's fractal graphene has shown significantly higher results, while the team at HydroGraph has been incredibly supportive," said Maithri Dissanayake, Volfpack's head of product development.
In addition to their potential to stabilize Asian power grids being fed with increasing quantities of renewable energy, these graphene-enhanced supercapacitors have potential uses in internet of things (IoT) devices, wearable technologies, solar energy systems, and other energy harvesting applications.
"This partnership combines our cutting-edge graphene technology with Volfpack Energy's expertise in supercapacitor development and manufacturing," said Breure. "Together, we're able to deliver groundbreaking energy solutions that meet the evolving needs of the market."
The combined partnerships with supercapacitor, battery materials, and automotive manufactures positions HydroGraph as a key player in commercializing the extraordinary properties offered by graphene.
With more than 16 years of covering mining, Shane is renowned for his insights and and in-depth analysis of mining, mineral exploration and technology metals.
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