Versarien Share News (VRS)

(Sharecast News) - Advanced materials engineering group Versarien announced that it was the first graphene company in the world to successfully complete the Graphene Council's 'Verified Graphene Producer' programme on Monday.The AIM-traded firm described the US-based Graphene Council's programme as an independent, third party verification system that involved a physical inspection of the production facilities, a review of the entire production process, a random sampling of product material and "rigorous characterisation and testing" by an international materials laboratory.It said the programme was based on the most recent developments in globally-recognised graphene standards, surveys of graphene producers, researchers and users, as well as analysis of commercially available graphene products.The Graphene Council had designed the programme to be an "important step" in providing customers and end-users with a degree of confidence that had not existed before, the board said, in that they were sourcing material from a reputable supplier.That, Versarien claimed, would bring "transparency and clarity" to a rapidly-changing and opaque market for graphene materials."Successful commercialisation of graphene materials requires not only the ability to produce graphene to a declared specification, but to be able to do so at a commercial scale," said Terrance Barkan, executive director of the Graphene Council."It is nearly impossible for a graphene customer to verify the type of material they are receiving without going through an expensive and time-consuming process of having sample materials fully characterised by a laboratory that has the equipment and expertise to test graphene."Barkan said the Verified Graphene Producer programme developed by the council provided a level of independent inspection and verification that was not available anywhere else."We are pleased to have worked with the National Physical Laboratory in the UK, regarded as one of the absolute top facilities for metrology and graphene characterisation in the world."They have provided outstanding analytical expertise for the materials testing portion of the programme."Neill Ricketts, chief executive officer of Versarien, added that the company was "delighted" that it was the first graphene producer in the world to successfully complete the Verified Graphene Producer programme."This is a huge validation of our technology and will enable our partners and potential customers to have confidence that the graphene we produce meets globally accepted standards."There are many companies that claim to be graphene producers, but to enjoy the benefits that this material can deliver requires high quality, consistent product to be supplied."Ricketts said the Verified Producer programme was designed to verify that its production facilities, processes and tested material met the stringent requirements laid down by the Graphene Council."I am proud that Versarien has been independently acclaimed as a Verified Graphene Producer and look forward to making further progress with our collaboration partners and numerous other parties that we are in discussions with."