High fives to L, and duke - you have identified that the breakthrough in developing the much harder (and thereby opening up many new applications) aluminium/graphene composite was indeed carried out by Yolshina et al from the Russian Academy of Sciences.
And Duke has pointed out that the Aluminium Industry in Europe is collaborating and developing on a scale that will provide the resources to help bring this new technology into the commercial world.
The catalyst to draw the capability that now exists, and the manufacturing companies that have the resource and experience to create the al/gr composites will be innovative entities and leaders that have identified how these composites can be incorporated into their product lines, to bring new and improved benefits to their customers.
Thanks for all the suggestions on the huge range of products that can benefit from these aluminium/graphene composites - it really is almost endless.
And I just want to remind everyone that while there are all sorts of graphene, with differing purity levels, varying platelet sizes, and from single or few layers through to multilayer (many would say these are not really graphene), there appears to be only a few sources of large platelet size graphene that can be easily produced at low cost, in bulk, to make this kind of al/gr a commercial reality.
The special combination of Sri Lankan crystal vein graphite, used as the source material in the FGR graphene production cell, is the key to making this technology commercially feasible, and it looks like a smart European Industrialist has put two plus two together, and has now put his money on the table to help push the concept to fruition.
Yes, there are a host of potential users, and many have been listed above.
I think we can all see the possibilities, and how FGR can launch it's unique high purity, large platelet size graphene into this industry-changing opportunity, as long as the leadership of the company takes timely steps and decisions to engage (along with the new investor - who has the right contacts already) with those who have the manufacturing capability.
One of the key areas the company needs to work on, if it seeks to fulfill it's destiny with this opportunity it has been presented, is making rapid decisions to ensure long term security of supply from its own mines in Sri Lanka - because to meet the sort of bulk demand in this one sector we are looking at, will need a much greater volume of production than has been envisaged or promoted so far.
The production volumes, using the modules that can be easily established at low capex near the users in Europe is easy to organise, as long as a long term secure supply of the unique Sri Lankan vein graphite can be guaranteed.
Thanks to all who have contributed so far. It has been fun, and we have all learnt a lot about our investment too.
But, although we now know what the technology is, who demonstrated it, and where the capability is to make it a commercial reality, we still haven't been able to identify the individual/entity that has placed this gift on FGR's doorstep.
It could have any of the enterprises mentioned already, but it's not.
Read through the clues again. As I said before, it's not obvious.
I had never thought of the use of graphene in this industry we are trying to identify. But when you think about it, it makes a lot of sense.
Maybe there might be a need for some more clues, but this is only day 2.
Well, maybe one tiny one.
The company concerned operates in Australia. And New Zealand. And in a lot of other countries.
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