Sparc progresses graphene additive manufacturing

Graphene and battery technology group Sparc Technologies has progressed plans to commercialise its graphene based additive products.

Sparc Technologies Managing Director Mike Bartels said that all equipment for the graphene based additives manufacturing facility had been delivered to site and construction was now underway.

Bartels said: “This will enable Sparc to supply our global customer base with commercial quantities of ecosparc product for the coatings and composites markets.

“Our on-going comprehensive testing program with global tier 1 and 2 coatings companies continues to demonstrate the significant performance improvement of coatings and composites materials employing our products.

“By improving coatings performance the frequency of asset maintenance can be significantly
reduced which subsequently serves to reduce costs and importantly the environmental footprint associated with such activities.”

Sparc’s ecosparc products for anticorrosive epoxy coatings deliver a 40 percent improvement in anticorrosive performance, according to the Adelaide company.

By extending the life of a coating to first maintenance, there is a significant reduction in installed coatings costs which also serves to support ESG objectives for coatings companies
Graphene Manufacturing Facility

Bartels said construction of a modular and scalable manufacturing facility for graphene based additive product is underway in Adelaide with commissioning expected in Q1 CY23.

“The commissioning of this production facility is a substantial vote of confidence in Sparc’s ability to reach commercial agreements with our potential customers and an endorsement of the rigorous technical programmes the Company has undertaken with numerous global tier 1 and 2 coatings companies.

“This significant step of being able to produce commercial quantities of graphene additive product will further support advanced technical and commercial collaboration discussions with global coatings customers.

“Importantly, the facility can readily accommodate large scale manufacturing to meet customer demand.”

Sparc is protecting its graphene know-how and intellectual property with provisional patent filings, the first of which is in the field of anti-corrosive coatings.

A number of further patent filings will occur in early 2023.

Picture: Sparc Technologies