Turquoise Group begins bulk graphene sales, aims to have commercial pilot project online “by the end of 2027”

Turquoise Group, a Darra, Brisbane company commercialising a plasma-based process to make low-cost graphene and hydrogen out of methane gas, has begun bulk sales of graphene powder.

CEO Sam Taubert (pictured) said in a statement on Tuesday that sales have “put Turquoise and Australia at the forefront of the rapidly growing global graphene sector, with applications in protective coatings, low-emission concretes and mortars, advanced battery materials, composites and more”.

The company described its proprietary process as “highly energy efficient, consum[ing] no water and ha[ving] no direct CO and CO2 emissions” and able to produce “bulk volumes of high-quality, multi-layer graphene and clean hydrogen”.

It added that it aims “to develop Australia’s first commercial graphene manufacturing hub located in Brisbane” and planned a capital raising to support further expansion.

(Fellow Brisbane company Graphene Manufacturing Group has been making graphene at a site in Richlands since 2018. As with Turquoise Group, GMG’s proprietary method also uses plasma, as well as methane as a feedstock, though its business is focussed on developing graphene-based solutions for various applications rather than on bulk material sales.)

Turquoise Group said it is currently selling graphene within Australia, Europe, the United States and Asia. According to the release, its technology is able to produce hundreds of kilograms a day at low costs, addressing high prices that are holding back global graphene adoption.

Taubert added: “Based on the initial strong interest that we have received from our planned capital raising, we aim to have our first, one-module commercial pilot project online by the end of 2027, with the potential for further expansion into a substantial new Australian-owned export industry.”

The federal government announced a $949,500 to the company in January, backing a nine-month program to build Turquoise Group’s first commercial-scale plant.

Editor's note: Other Australian companies have been producing graphene commercially for some time, as we are aware, and as readers have pointed out. One example is First Graphene, a finalist in this title's Australia's 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers list for 2024, which has been making and selling bulk graphene since 2018.     

Picture: supplied

Further reading

Turquoise Group produces hydrogen from methane

Brisbane company takes delivery of equipment to produce “turquoise hydrogen” and graphene

Greener hydrogen is good

GMG progresses towards new 10-tonne graphene plant at Brisbane