26 Jan 2022 07:00
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (MAR), and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR.
26 January 2022
Verditek PLC
("Verditek" or the "Company")
Paragraf and Verditek Joint Development Project Update
Over the last 4 years, Verditek and Paragraf, a leading Cambridge based Graphene technology company, have been working together to try and harness the benefits of Graphene into a new type of PhotoVoltaic (PV) cell. Following two earlier stage Joint Development Programmes ("JDP"), Verditek is delighted to announce that it has entered into a third JDP, that will further their collaboration with Paragraf and will be focused on the creation of a new Graphene Integrated PV technology.
The third JDP will investigate alternative PV cells where Graphene could cost effectively replace traditional Silicon structures, delivering efficiencies exceeding the current state of the art. Although the conventional PV industry has improved cell efficiency and brought manufacturing costs down substantially over the last decade, gains have slowed recently and Verditek and Paragraf believe an alternative approach using a graphene-metal interface with new investigation involving the Schottke Diode could be a game-changer for the development of higher yielding PV cells.
Along with the International Energy Agency, Verditek and Paragraf strongly believe that solar will be a key energy source and contributor to the world's effort to drive down carbon emissions. New alternative breakthrough technology is essential to achieve higher efficiencies. Both Verditek and Paragraf consider JDP3 to be a potentially important step in the development of a cutting-edge higher performance PV cell.
Commenting on this development Rob Richards Verditek CEO said, "Following the hard work and effort applied to the previous JDP1 and JDP2, we are delighted to be moving forward into this potentially exciting phase of the technology's development and the step-change in PV design that could result".
Simon Thomas, Paragraf CEO added, "Delivering higher performance solar energy harvesting technology is an important step in the journey towards a carbon neutral society. The joint development projects Paragraf and Verditek have undertaken are squarely focussed on this vision and have provided significant understanding of the technological possibilities. We are excited to enter the third stage of this development journey on the road to next generation PV products."
For further information:
Verditek plc
Rob Richards, CEO Tel: +44 (0)20 7129 1110
Vicki Johnson, CFO
WH Ireland Limited - NOMAD and Broker
Chris Hardie Tel: +44 (0)20 7220 1666
Ben Good
About Verditek plc:
AIM listed Verditek plc is a holding company of a business operating within the green technology sector. The Company is focused on commercializing our lightweight low-profile solar panel business. With manufacturing based in Lainate Italy, we have developed renewable power solutions for our customers, that drive solar energy into applications previously unachievable. The exceptional properties of our solar panels replace diesel fuel in business such as perishable goods transport, off-grid telecommunication towers, electric vehicle charging stations, residential and holiday home power solutions and solar roofing for light-weight industrial roofing. In addition to our current PV panels in production, we have partnered with an outstanding leader in graphene technology, Paragraf. We are working together to engineer the technology for commercialization.
As reported previously, our initial Joint Development Program (JDP1) with Paragraf focussed on several challenges including investigating industrial PV surface roughness, optimising graphene production to balance adhesion with conduction, and tuning graphene transparency vs. electrical properties. Completion of JDP1 succeeded in creating a working Proof of Concept cell (3x3 cm) that produced substantial power when irradiated with sunlight.
Our second JDP with Paragraf focused on improving the graphene silicon PV interface and creating an effective metal contact to allow efficient current extraction from the cells. Production methodology was improved with successful application of graphene to a full industrial PV wafer (15.6 x 15.6 cm) and subsequently the creation of a graphene-metal electrical interface enabling cell power extraction.
Verditek provides compelling commercial solutions that help to make our customer's businesses sustainable.
For more information please visit: https://verditek.com/