MONTREAL, May 12, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NanoXplore Inc. (“NanoXplore” or the “Corporation”) (TSX: GRA and OTCQX: NNXPF) announces that it has entered into a long-term supply agreement with Molding Products LLC to produce and sell graphene-enhanced Sheet Molding Compound (“SMC”) called GrapheneBlack™ SMC, used to create high quality, lightweight composite exterior and battery enclosure parts for cars and trucks, such as hoods, bumpers, roofs, and battery packs. GrapheneBlack™ SMC delivers weight reduction of up to 15% vs typical composite parts while also improving surface finish, paintability, and crack resistance. Under the terms of the agreement, both companies can market and sell the new premium grade of SMC under the NanoXplore tradename. Weight reduction is becoming increasingly important for the transportation industry, particularly because electric vehicles are generally heavier than internal combustion engine vehicles and range anxiety could be addressed by reducing the weight of the vehicles. Furthermore, lightweight sheet molding composites are being used increasingly in electric vehicle battery packs that would be complementary to NanoXplore battery related activities.
The agreement with NanoXplore secures a competitive, localized supply of high-quality graphene to produce GrapheneBlack™ SMC as well as R&D support for the development of new graphene-enhanced product grades. NanoXplore is the world’s largest manufacturer of sustainable, high-quality, cost-effective graphene with 4,000 metric tons of annual production capacity in Montreal, Canada.
Troy Wade, President of Molding Products, commented:
“This is a great opportunity to advance Molding Products’ SMC technology as we look to expand further into the transportation market space. By combining NanoXplore graphene with our own proprietary SMC technology, we can deliver significant weight savings with superior properties for the end-user’s application.”
Soroush Nazarpour, President and Chief Executive Officer of NanoXplore, commented:
“I am very pleased that our graphene and graphene-enhanced composite products passed the stringent qualification process for the transportation market. The alliance with Molding Products introduces graphene-enhanced composite products into exterior and battery enclosures parts of the passenger vehicle market as well as heavy commercial vehicles and buses. The resulted weight reduction translates into longer range for electric vehicles and can be used in other transportation segments such as trains and planes.”
About NanoXplore Inc.
NanoXplore is a graphene company, a manufacturer and supplier of high-volume graphene powder for use in transportation and industrial markets. The Company provides standard and custom graphene-enhanced plastic and composite products to various customers in transportation, packaging, electronics, and other industrial sectors. NanoXplore is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec with manufacturing facilities across North America and Europe. Please visit www.nanoxplore.ca.
About Molding Products
Headquartered in South Bend Indiana, Molding Products LLC, an operating business of IP Corporation, supplies sheet molding composites to the growing compression molding industry with a focus on providing industry-leading, custom-formulated molding compounds for a wide variety of industries and applications.
For further information, please contact:
Martin Gagné
Director, Investor Relations
Martin.gagne@nanoxplore.ca
Tel: 438.476.1342
Todd Cummings
Technical Sales Lead
tcummings@molding-products.com
Tel: 704.402.7114
