Haydale, a leader in the development and commercialisation of enhanced graphene and nanoparticulate materials, has announced that it has recently been awarded a number of research grants, totalling over £450,000.

The projects relating to each grant are expected to run for a period of between 18 to 24 months. These new projects include:

The development of low cost, self-cleaning graphene enhanced coatings for industrial membranes used in the cleaning and filtering of waste water, swimming pools, desalination and offshore drilling fluids, amongst others as part of the project recently announced by G20 Water. The  project’s target sectors of nanofiltration from reverse osmosis (RO) and ultrafiltration accounted for $1.7 billion of sales in 2014.

The development of resins and coatings, incorporating Haydale HDPlas® functionalised microencapsulants, which emit UV fluorescent dyes under impact. The use of such systems in safety critical composite applications such as aircraft primary structures, pressure vessels, yachts, boats, sign posts, pressure pipes and car chassis structures would enable engineers to readily and easily detect damage in the form of a “bruise”.

The feasibility of developing type V liner-less thermoplastic composite hydrogen pressure vessels for hydrogen powered fuel cell vehicles. If it can be demonstrated that it is feasible to manufacture liner-less functionalised graphene enhanced thermoplastic composite pressure vessels with improved permeation resistance, this could lead to lighter, cheaper and safer hydrogen pressure vessels on vehicles. Research by UK H2 Mobility predicts that 10,000 Hydrogen vehicles will be sold by 2020, with an estimated annual market for storage vessels of £21 million.

A consulting assignment to review and advise on the transfer of aerospace led materials research into non-aerospace applications. This has been awarded as part of the Dual-Use Technology Exploitation (DUTE) Innovation Cluster.

Commenting on the grant awards, Ray Gibbs, Haydale Chief Executive said “The support of government is vital in accelerating the commercialisation of graphene based composite products and through our unique plasma treatment functionalisation process we will be at the forefront of developing and commercialising a whole new range of graphene enhanced composite materials. The awards also enable us to engage directly with prime OEM’s in the significant aerospace, automotive, rail and marine markets as well as enabling us to expand our technical team and capabilities in this area.”

Gerry Boyce, Managing Director of subsidiary Haydale Composite Solutions added “We have a well-defined product development strategy and are committed to developing graphene enhanced polymer and polymer composite products in targeted markets including Aerospace, Automotive, Rail and Marine. Being awarded these research contracts underpins this strategy. The ability to radically improve the mechanical, electrical and thermal characteristics of  polymers, resins, coatings and adhesives through the incorporation of functionalised graphene is probably one of the most step changing and exciting enabling technologies for a generation and could lead to a whole range of new materials.”

Haydale Ltd, based in South Wales, UK and housed in a purpose-built facility for processing and handling nanomaterials, is facilitating the application of graphene's and other nanomaterials in fields such as aerospace, inks, sensors, energy storage, photovoltaics, composites, paints and coatings. Haydale has developed a patent-pending proprietary scalable plasma process to functionalise graphene and other nanomaterials. This enabling technology can provide Haydale with a rapid and highly cost-efficient method of supplying tailored solutions to enhance applications for both raw material suppliers and product manufacturers. 

Haydale Composite Solutions (HCS) has developed a reputation for delivering innovative solutions in the commercial applications of advanced polymer composite materials working with global companies over more than 20 years.  HCS is focused on a range of market sectors including pipe lining for the oil, gas and water industries, infrastructure for electricity and energy sectors plus the marine and transportation markets.  HCS competence spans the entire development cycle from applied research, product design, process development, product testing and certification, to setting up manufacturing plants. EPL also works with OEMs and end-users to develop and provide composite solutions with demonstrable clear technical, economic and environmental benefits over existing structures currently manufactured in traditional materials such as steel, aluminium, wood or concrete.

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