Graphene power drive
PARAGRAF, the developer whose electronics technology based on wonder material graphene is paving the way for infinitely more powerful, energy-saving devices such as medical scanners, has raised £12.8million to commercialise its breakthroughs.
The venture capital and angel investment marks a turning point for the 2015 Cambridge University spinout that has invented new ways of producing graphene, two dimensional and an atom thick, to be compatible with mass-market manufacturing.
There have never been any doubts about the British invention’s sensational properties – strength, flexibility, high electrical conductivity, but getting it from the lab and into real world solutions has been much harder.
Despite graphene’s dazzling potential to replace silicon in computer chips, make processors up to 1000 times faster and halve energy consumption, hurdles such as contamination, poor uniformity, limited size and reproducibility have curbed manufacture.
But these are problems Paragraf’s innovations have solved. Co-founder and chief executive Dr Simon Thomas explains: “We use graphene we have created in-house. We aren’t a seller, we’re a developer that realises new technologies that we take on to volume production with partners.
“Our approach delivers large area, high-quality layers and materials. It allows the ready combination of different substances and layers without the need for transfer processes. The materials are suitable for direct application in devices at scale, which graphene has been unable to do before.”
Paragraf’s “deep, hard tech” and need for capital investment into equipment made it a difficult prospect initially for attracting investors. But £3 million seed funding, including Government enterprise backing, in 2017 helped it deliver prototypes, get into its own production unit and start serious hiring. Today it has a team of 25 scientists. “I’m extremely proud of our young team,” says Dr Thomas. “Our staff come first, we have a drive for common goals and this has allowed us to move fast and achieve great things quickly.”
The latest funding was led by university spin-out investor Parkwalk Advisors and includes Cambridge Enterprise, Amadeus Capital and IQ Capital Partners. Currently the company is pre-revenue. “But this takes us into a new growth phase and future earnings in the billions,” he adds.
The first product for commercialisation will be a magnetic sensor that operates over a greater range of temperature, field and power than offered by other devices. That could improve performance and lower costs for the likes of body scanners and satellites. A collaboration to produce lighter, more efficient solar panels is also advancing.
And previously unachievable benefits such as instantly chargeable batteries beckon. “The global market for graphene is expanding rapidly,” says Dr Thomas, “we are inundated with approaches now.”
● paragraf.com
● parkwalkadvisors.com