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(Alliance News) - Versarien PLC on Wednesday said its 62%-owned Spain-based subsidiary Gnanomat SL has been awarded a EUR415,000 grant from ICEX Trade & Investment, a Spanish government entity.
The Cheltenham, England-based engineering materials company said the funding was for a project involving the "design, optimisation and validation of a new line of eco-friendly conductive inks based on nanomaterials for flexible and printed electronics".
Versarien said the project is expected to enable Gnanomat to commercialise and launch a new line of conductive inks during 2024.
This would be based on Versarien's nanomaterials, which are complementary to the wider company's other products.
Versarien said the funding will cover certain operating overheads which otherwise would have been cut, will expand its product offering and is expected to materially reduce Gnanomat's reliance on in-house Versarien funding.
Versarien expects Gnanomat to receive the grant funding in the first half of 2024, following validation of project costs. The grant will cover around 70% of eligible costs, Versarien said, with Gnanomat required to fund the balance, some of which has already been incurred in order to meet the terms of the grant.
The funding comes amid Versarien's previously announced turnaround strategy, which seeks to "preserve appropriate intellectual property" within the firm while reducing operating costs.
To this end, Gnanomat had been concentrating on applying for a number of European and national grants, alongside development contracts, in order to "become self-sustaining rather than relying on group funding", Versarien said.
"We are very pleased that Gnanomat has been awarded this grant which will enable it to quickly expand its ink-based product offerings in the electronics sector, a sector in which it already has a number of potential commercial opportunities," said Versarien Chief Executive Officer Stephen Hodge.
"Gnanomat will continue to seek funding via grants and development contracts in line with the turnaround strategy and we look forward to providing further updates in due course."
Gnanomat Chief Executive Officer Roberto Clemente commented: "This project will extend Versarien's Graphinks portfolio by providing novel and complementary products. The new product range will integrate hybrid advanced nanomaterials from Gnanomat for applications such as electromagnetic interference shielding, data coding and security, among others.
"These new formulations are primarily intended for use in the aerospace and defence sectors, where the company has ongoing collaborations and projects."
Shares in Versarien were up 1.9% to 1.35 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.
By Greg Rosenvinge, Alliance News reporter
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