I/m out of my depth here so help me to better understand.
One of the two most important (non-financial) reasons for buying into Talga was the "technology platform" aspect, something oft repeated by other posters. Even TLG "splits" itself in two by calling it themselves an advanced battery anode materials AND graphene additives company
Keeping the Talphene 100% to TLG was an important distinction in my financial analysis ...all 8,000 tpa of it.
1. What exactly is Talphene ... besides a brand name for graphene. Is all graphene the same with the same properties (surely not???). I'm using the thought bubble that since graphene is "just" a 1 atom think layer of carbon there must be some "magic" to the way it "binds" (mixes?) with other materials and that magic is the company's IP?
2. TLG's graphene ...aka Talphene correct?) ... is the basis for TLG's "platform" for different graphene additive solutions ... one of which is Talcoat for paints and coating ... correct?
But how do you "mass produce" graphene ... and how much is produced and used today? What is the standard measure of the end product (e.g. akin to say a barrel of oil). And how is quality control (e.g. like API gravity of oil). And pricing?
"Making graphene, though, is not trivial. The best mass-market graphene comes from chemically exfoliated, natural, mined graphite, and companies that own interests in graphite mines are already establishing themselves as players in this graphene revolution, leveraging their preferential access to raw materials in order to increase share prices. "
That is the intent .. increase the share price ... but there is carbon "freely" available everywhere. "Would you like to buy a 10 millimeter x 10 millimeter monolayer of graphene flakes on a silicon substrate? $146"
By the mm2 is it? Not by weight? How is cut & delivered?
"Graphene’s potential to change the course of innumerable industries is only limited by the imagination and cunning of business leaders who share a vision with a knowledgeable chemist, engineer, or physicist. Bolder, more enterprising technologies will develop by adding different molecules to graphene, treating it as a scaffold onto which biomolecules can be grafted, perhaps as passive sensors for chemical and biological weapons."
"Graphene as a coating material could even change industries in the short term. Because graphene is mostly nonreactive and very hydrophobic, any surface coated in a layer of graphene would move through water with decreased friction from water-metal surface tension. A graphene layer on tanker ships would make worldwide shipping more effective. Adding a graphene layer onto a windshield would create a surface that was not only transparent (because graphene itself is transparent) but would naturally repel water and increase driver safety in rainstorms. Want to reduce air drag on a high-performance car? Ensure that its shell is perfectly atomically flat by encasing it in graphene. Maybe an especially talented engineer in the future will design a vehicle with perfectly smooth and regular flow over the car’s body, eking out a few more horsepower from the engine and a few more miles per gallon from the tank."
The bolding is mine ... oh hello "Talcoat".
Makes me think that part of our business will grow like a weed ... but who makes commercial quantities of the stuff now?
A 2019 Canaccord UK research report estimated that worldwide graphene sales could grow at a compound annual growth rate of 45 per cent to reach $US4.8bn ($6.7bn) by 2030.
... A CAGR of 45% means a doubling every 1.6 years ... so roughly 6 doubles which puts the 2019 market size at $75M and at 45% grow says 2020 market size is ~$110M ...hmmm ... I still don't know how many tpa that is though
Still having trouble finding who makes what quantity and how much they sell it for .. (there are a few ASX startups ...) I did find a Canadian company ... finished a 4,000 tpa graphene plant in Montreal in July 2020 it may have been mentioned before ... NanoXplore
The more one digs the more interesting it gets. NanoExplore considers itself as 2 streams as well:
1. Graphene Production - taking natural graphite flakes and manufacturing GrapheneBlack (their trademarked name) POWDER as an additive for Paints, Batteries and Tires
2. Compounding - the mixing of graphene and plastics
TLG is proposing to supply 8,500 tpa of Talphene in 2025/26 at $15,000/t (roughly $127.5M) ... would this be in that ~$700M TAM in 25/26 ... which would be about 25% of Graphene mkt if Canaccord UK has it correct... all for Silicon coating anodes in EV batteries? Written up in the TLG Niska PFS (found it easiest to just search on Talphene and flicking through that way.
Does Talphene potentially obsolete/overwhelm something like GrapheneBlack? Anyone know where is the source graphite flakes coming from for NanoXplore? Would they be considered as absolute competitors ... use TP or GB
Anyone looked at Graphene producing companies in any detail? ... besides TLG and ASX listed startups (e.g. EGR).
TLG Price at posting:
$1.64 Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
(20min delay)