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RNS Number : 8078B
Versarien PLC
15 January 2018
Versarien plc
("Versarien" or the "Company")
Planned Chinese graphene manufacturing facility
Versarien plc (AIM: VRS), the advanced materials engineering
group, is pleased to announce that it has signed a Letter of Intent
("LOI") to establish a graphene manufacturing centre in China.
The non-binding LOI has been entered into by Versarien together
with the Shandong Institute of Industrial Technology Fund, Jinan
Qing Na Material Technology Co Ltd and Jinan Innovation Zone
Administrative Committee with the view to establishing the
"China-UK Jinan Graphene Industrial Park" in the Jinan Innovation
Zone, Shandong Province, China. The Jinan Innovation Zone,
established as a national hi-tech zone in 1991, currently has ten
industrial parks with businesses including software, intelligent
manufacturing and life sciences.
The LOI envisages as a first stage the establishment of a
100,000 square foot manufacturing facility to produce and sell
Versarien's proprietary Nanene few layer graphene nano-platelets.
Versarien will provide its intellectual property (IP) on a licensed
basis together with production know how, whilst the other joint
venture partners will provide the factory and funding for plant and
equipment.
The second stage objective is the establishment of the first
Chinese graphene industrial park, the "Jinan Graphene Valley"
including a graphene research institute with funding coming from
the joint venture partners. The total project cost is anticipated
to be in the region of 500 million yuan (approximately GBP55
million).
It is the Company's intention to form a wholly owned Hong Kong
company which will become one of the joint venture partners, whilst
ensuring the strongest protection of its IP. Further announcements
will be made as appropriate, including when final agreements are
entered into.
Neill Ricketts, CEO of Versarien, commented: "We are delighted
to have entered into this LOI and to be working with our Chinese
partners to establish a world leading high quality graphene
manufacturing facility using Versarien's proprietary IP and
manufacturing knowhow.
"It is intended that this facility will form the centre of the
"Jinan Graphene Valley" and pave the way to Versarien establishing
a world class base in the Asian region. We have been afforded great
support from the Chinese government and we are working with all
parties to deliver this facility in record time and to capture the
excitement and support for our Nanene product in China.
"It is important for us to have facilities close to
manufacturing centres worldwide and we will continue to build on
this base. We have negotiated significant Chinese government
support to protect our IP and this agreement follows from the
meeting with President Xi Jinping at the National Graphene
Institute at the University of Manchester in October 2015.
"This agreement demonstrates the world leading capabilities of
Versarien in the production of graphene and other nano materials.
With the significant global interest we are seeing in our graphene,
this facility will go a significant way towards allowing us to meet
anticipated demand and to be able to work closely with Chinese
companies developing graphene enhanced products.
"This continues to be a very busy and exciting time for the
Company and I look forward to providing further updates on our
progress throughout 2018."
This announcement includes inside information as defined in
Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation No. 596/2014 and is
disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under
Article 17 of those Regulations.
Enquiries:
Versarien 01242 269 122
Neill Ricketts, CEO
Chris Leigh, CFO
WH Ireland (Nominated Advisor) 0117 945 3470
Mike Coe
Ed Allsopp
IFC Advisory (Financial PR and IR) 0203 934 6630
Tim Metcalfe
Graham Herring
Heather Armstrong
About Jinan Innovation Zone
The Jinan Innovation Zone was established upon the approval by
the Chinese State Council in March 1991 as one of the first
national hi-tech zones. Currently, there are five large zones
formed according to the "One area, two cities, two valleys"
arrangement, with a total area of 318 square kilometers, covering
five sub-district offices. Jinan Innovation Zone has ten industrial
parks in the fields of software, intelligent manufacturing, life
sciences and many other industry fields providing high quality and
professional services.
About Jinan Qing Na Material Technology Co., Ltd
Jinan Qing Na Material Technology Co was founded in 2014; an
enterprise incubated by the Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech, Chinese
Academy of Sciences. Its main products are carbon nano-tubes,
graphene and other carbon compounded materials. It owns a number of
leading technologies in China and overseas and has accumulated many
industrial customers.
About Shandong Institute of Industrial Technology Fund
Shandong Institute of Industrial Technology Fund was founded in
2016 as a scientific research transformation fund and a supporting
unit of the Shandong Industrial Technology Research Institute,
launched by Jinan Equity Investment Fund of Funds and the Qilu Bank
under the government industry lead. Its main responsibility is to
invest in hi-tech industries in Jinan, China and abroad.
About Versarien
Versarien plc (AIM:VRS), is an advanced engineering materials
group. Leveraging proprietary technology, the Group creates
innovative engineering solutions for its clients in a diverse range
of industries. Versarien has five subsidiaries operating under two
divisions:
Graphene and Plastics
2-DTech Ltd, which specialises in the supply, characterisation
and early stage development of graphene products.
www.2-dtech.com
AAC Cyroma Ltd, which specialises in the supply of vacuum-formed
and injection-moulded products to the automotive, construction,
utilities and retail industry sectors. Using Versarien's existing
graphene manufacturing capabilities, AAC will have the ability to
produce graphene-enhanced plastic products. www.aaccyroma.co.uk
Cambridge Graphene Ltd, which supplies novel inks based on
graphene and related materials, using patented processes and
develops graphene materials technology for licensing to
manufacturers. www.cambridgegraphene.com
Thermal and Hard Wear Products
Versarien Technologies Ltd. which has developed an additive
process for creating advanced micro-porous metals targeting the
thermal management industry and supplies extruded aluminium.
www.versarien-technologies.co.uk
Total Carbide Ltd, a leading manufacturer in sintered tungsten
carbide for applications in arduous environments such as the oil
and gas industry. www.totalcarbide.com
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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