Graphite's Lightbulb moment

FORBES
4/07/15

Graphite's Lightbulb Moment Builds Interest In A Born-Again Mineral

Coal might be a major source of environmental pollution but one particular form of coal could turn out to be the environment’s best friend as well as being the source of a high-tech miracle material that has just found its first commercial use.

Graphite, the stuff found in “lead” pencils, is sometimes referred to as the highest form of coal and can be burned like coal to generate heat though more valuable uses have been found for graphite such as in vehicle brake linings and batteries for storing electricity.

It is in electric-powered cars that graphite has been re-born as a valuable commodity thanks to it being an essential component in lithium ion batteries.

Graphene Lights Up

But the form of graphite which has the tech-world on its toes is when graphite is reduced to its simplest form as pure carbon, sometimes as thin as a single atom, when it becomes known as graphene.

Recognized in 2004 as a material with unique properties graphene has just had its first outing as a household product, wrapped around the filament in a light-emitting diode (LED) to produce a lightbulb that can slice 10% off the cost and last longer than a conventional bulb.

Graphene’s “lightbulb” moment came as a result of cooperation between Manchester University in Britain and a group of Canadian investors keen to develop markets for the material which is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity and 100-times stronger than steel by weight.

The graphene-coated lightbulb is just the latest in a series of events in the life of a material which earned its discoveries, Sir Andre Geim and Sir Kostya Novoselov an equal share of a Nobel Prize, as well as British knighthoods for their work at Manchester University.

A Rare Growth Option For Mining

The return of graphite from decades in the commodity wilderness, and the discovery of its super-thin relation, graphene, is fast becoming one of the mining industries hopes for future growth at a time when prices for most raw materials are falling.

Two recent deals highlight the increasing level of interest in graphite and graphene, particularly in Europe with its tough environmental protection laws.

Talga Resources, an Australian-based company, is building a graphene demonstration plant in Germany to exhibit the qualities of graphite it plans to mine mined in northern Sweden.

Kibaran Resources, another small Australian company, has struck a funding deal with the finance arm of a German bank to push ahead with development of its graphite discovery in the East African country of Tanzania.

The Talga project is designed to produce trial graphene products for German industry with full-scale graphene processing expected to be undertaken in Sweden.

The Kibaran project is designed to extract high-quality Tanzanian graphite which will initially be supplied to the German industrial giant, ThyssenKrupp.

Europe Loves Graphene

Europe is so keen on graphene that two years ago it created a one-billion euro fund for graphene research and development into ideas as diverse as coolant additive to waterproof coating and from use in solar cells and other electronic equipment to toughening cement.

A large number of companies are planning to develop graphite deposits potentially creating a surplus if markets for the graphite and graphene are not developed as quickly as the mine plans.

Getting supply aligned with demand will be the greatest challenge for graphite miners who will be hoping that electric cars and graphene gadgets catch on quickly.

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