First Graphene Limited (ASX:FGR; “First Graphene” or “the Company”) is pleased to provide an update on commercialization opportunities presented by the development of graphene materials.
The Company’s recent development of new graphene-enhanced electrocatalysts targets the rapidly growing production of ‘green hydrogen’ by water electrolysis.
Electrocatalyst production accelerates towards commercialization
First Graphene has completed a 12-month project in the United Kingdom to develop low-cost high- performing electrocatalysts for hydrogen production. Electrocatalysts are materials that reduce the energy required and subsequently speed up the rate of hydrogen and oxygen production when splitting water by electrolysis. They are essential for the economic production of ‘green hydrogen’.
Current state-of-the-art electrocatalysts use high-cost rare metals such as iridium and ruthenium which drives up operating costs and hinders the adoption of water electrolysis for the manufacture of ‘green hydrogen’.
Supported by A$183,000 in funding from Innovate UK, the project trialed the production of graphene-enhanced water-splitting electrocatalysts.
In this project, First Graphene investigated the optimal formulation of coatings to be applied to electrodes which were tested against defined performance targets.
The Company benchmarked the graphene-enhanced low-cost electrocatalysts against two different commercial catalyst materials^1, assessing the product’s stability and mass activity. Results indicated First Graphene’s catalyst requires less energy to produce hydrogen when compared to a commercial iridium catalyst in similar conditions.
Depicted in Graph 1 (overpage), the solution also performed remarkably well compared to a commercial ruthenium catalyst, resulting in close to three-times the output in hydrogen production despite using the same quantity of ruthenium.
Importantly, this means First Graphene’s electrocatalyst has the potential to become a commercially beneficial solution that allows quantities of high-cost and scarce ruthenium to last longer during hydrogen production.
First Graphene’s solution can combine low-cost transition metals with the high conductivity of the Company’s world-leading PureGRAPH® platelets to produce higher-performing affordable electrocatalysts.
The results from the Innovate UK project have been used to leverage further government funding via a new project to assess the details of scaled catalyst production.
The A$155,000 project commenced under The Centre of Expertise in Advanced Materials and Sustainability (CEAMS) pilot scheme in the UK.
The project aims to define process parameters in pilot-scale production of graphene catalyst materials, which is a necessary step towards full-scale production and partnerships with end-users.
This provides the Company with another opportunity to commercialize catalyst materials without removing resources from existing projects.
Electrolyser manufacturing capacity is expected to grow globally from 19 gigawatts per year to 155 gigawatts per year by 2030^2. From this, a projected 35 gigawatts per year is expected to be in the form of Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyzers.
First Graphene’s enhanced electrocatalysts are well suited for hydrogen synthesis in a PEM electrolyser. Representatives for the Company recently attended the World Electrolyser Congress in Düsseldorf, where there was significant interest in high-performing cost-effective catalysts for PEM electrolyzers, placing First Graphene in a strong position to meet this global demand.
With an increasing focus on net-zero targets around the world, the combination of more cost-effective materials matched with First Graphene’s in-house expertise on electrochemistry can assist the Company scale production to enable low-cost high-performing catalysts for a rapidly growing technology.
Dedicated electrochemical testing facility opens
First Graphene has the capability to perform electrochemical analysis in-house following the establishment of a dedicated testing facility at its UK headquarters in Manchester.
This new facility will result in faster, more cost-effective testing of electrocatalysts and graphene materials, paving the way to develop new products such as graphene oxide and create new application opportunities and insights for existing PureGRAPH® materials.
New partnership to drive carbon neutrality in UK
First Graphene has embarked on a new project with the Greater Manchester Electrochemical Hydrogen Cluster (GMEHC) in the United Kingdom.
The GMEHC is a consortium of leading research facilities and experts aiming to address material challenges and measurement problems holding back innovation in hydrogen fuel cell technology and electrolyser value chains.
The aim of this project will be to analyze graphene metal oxides through the GMEHC to demonstrate the technology in an electrolyser stack for the first time.
This project targets the displacement of iridium in electrolyzers, with testing to provide key performance data including stability and efficiency metrics. Data from this stack testing will be provided to catalyst end-users, which will mark an important milestone towards the commercialisation of this licensed technology. The Company expects existing plant equipment to be utilized for production, which will further diversify First Graphene’s product lines to meet demand from new industries.
First Graphene Managing Director and CEO Michael Bell said: “First Graphene has developed a significant variety of opportunities to provide low-cost, high performing solutions for the global renewable energy sector. “I am proud of the work conducted by the First Graphene team, and I look forward to seeing these opportunities progress towards commercialization.”
About First Graphene
The company has a robust manufacturing platform based upon captive supply of high-purity raw materials and an established 100 tons/year graphene production capacity.
Commercial applications are now being progressed in composites, elastomers, fire retardancy, construction and energy storage.
First Graphene Ltd. is publicly listed in Australia (ASX:FGR) and has a primary manufacturing base in Henderson, near Perth, WA. The company was recently incorporated in the UK as First Graphene (UK) Ltd. and is a Tier 1 partner at the Graphene Engineering and Innovation Centre (GEIC), Manchester, UK.
First Graphene is the leading graphene supplier in the commercial-scale manufacture of high-quality graphene products. It can supply volume quantities, at competitive prices, thanks to:
- A secure source of top-grade raw materials
- A high-capacity manufacturing plant utilizing proprietary techniques
- Efficient production processes
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