Full steam ahead: That’s the message from Elcora Resources (
TSX:V.ERA,
Stock Forum) as it completes its push to become a graphene producer.
Sorry, not ‘a’ graphene producer. ‘The’ graphene producer.
A few months back, graphene, which is an ultra-high grade, large flake variety of graphite that can conceivably transform the battery industry but is in ridiculously short supply, was a nice dream; A ‘one day we’ll do this’ scenario.
Now it’s their reason for being; the great white whale in the harpoon sights, the Apollo program closing in on Tranquility Base.
Elcora is so big on the prospect of graphene, it’s changing its name to Graphene Corporation.
From the company press release yesterday:
“Currently, Elcora […] is undertaking a series of laboratory processing tests on graphite from its Ragedara mine to produce graphite in a form suitable for conversion to graphene. These proof-of-concept tests are on-going and are expected be completed in the fourth quarter of 2014. This will be part of a continuous research and development effort leading to high conversion ratios of the graphite to graphene on a commercial scale.”
Why does this matter? Because graphene is a single layer of graphite which, in tension, is around 400 times the strength of steel, and has a thousand times the conductivity of copper. Add it to plastic and you give that plastic unheard of strength, and electrical conductivity.
The bottom of a Tesla car contains graphite as a weight saving. But if you used PET plastic – which is used to make drinking bottles - with graphene added, you’d have more tensile strength with about 20% of the weight. A stronger, lighter car has been an auto industry goal for decades.
Base graphite, as an industry, is popping right now, courtesy of Tesla’s recent announcement that it would be doubling global demand for the resource by 2020 to fuel its ‘Gigafactory’ battery plant. That’s led to a host of companies battling it out to be seen as the ‘supplier most likely’, and a general surge in stock value across the board.
But if Tesla’s plans are blue sky, the potential for graphene is deep space.
If graphene is commercialized, you could charge your iPhone by simply touching it to a power supply. If graphene is commercialized, your car could be recharged in minutes. If graphene is commercialized, a lightweight vest could be bulletproof, broadband could be many multiples faster.. really the world transforms quickly. The issue is scalability.
Elcora’s Dr. Ian Flint: Dr. Flint, “There is a type of energy device called a field effect capacitor, or a hyper capacitor, which stores energy like a capacitor instead of using chemical reaction. This means it can be charged as fast as the electrons can get into it, which means basically an instant charge on a cellphone.”
Hyper capacitors generally use carbon black as storage medium and have the capacity to hold about 5% of a lithium battery, but if you were to replace that carbon black with graphene, the storage is the same, with the recharge time being many multiples faster.
“If we can get the price down to where we want, you’d get it at half the price of an existing battery,” says Dr. Flint.
The problem is, there are only a few kilos of the stuff produced every year, around the world.
Most graphite produced is about 300 microns in size. Elcora says its flakes are millimetres in size. This is a big deal.
A few tons of graphene would be enough to build 5000 cars, God only knows how many iPhone chargers, and let’s not even get into the potential of 3D printing.
So what are the plans for getting graphene going?
Elcora are undergoing proof of concept tests right now at its Sri Lanka-based Ragadera mine, which it operates and has 40% ownership of. Those are scheduled to be completed by end of 2014.
Right now, the company is stockpiling graphite as it constructs a processing and refining mill, which it hopes will process 5000 tonnes of resource per year – to start with.
It’ll take 12 months to complete its on-site lab for testing, and a business development push will see it seeking end user contracts as it ramps up production.
If you view Elcora as a mining stock, you’re really only seeing the tip of the iceberg. This is a technology play that, as a downside, will produce plenty of graphite in a hot graphite market. But the upside potential of the graphene side of things could be explosive. It could be game changing.
Elcora has a market cap of $8.3m and 41.6m shares outstanding.
--Chris Parry
https://www.twitter.com/chrisparry
FULL DISCLOSURE: Elcora Resources is a Stockhouse Publishing client.