Versarien Regulatory News (VRS)

19 September 2017

Versarien plc

("Versarien" or the "Company")

Significant Tender Win

Versarien plc (AIM: VRS), the advanced materials engineering group, is very pleased to announce that it has won a single supplier competitive tender for the ongoing supply of nanomaterials, including the Company's graphene, to the Centre for Process Innovation Limited ("CPI"). The evaluation of the tender was based principally on the quality and specification of the graphene to be supplied with additional marks awarded for price and delivery.

The CPI, established by the UK Government, is a technology innovation centre and the process arm of the UK Government's High Value Manufacturing Catapult ("HVMC"). The HVMC is a strategic initiative that aims to revitalise the UK's manufacturing industry. Overseen by the Technology Strategy Board, the HVMC consists of seven centres, including the CPI, with over £200 million of government investment.

Versarien will be supplying up to 1.2 kilograms of graphene in a variety of forms, including the Company's proprietary brand, Nanene, to the CPI.

Additionally, Versarien has won the tender to supply the nanomaterial, few hexagonal layer boron nitride, to the CPI. This is a significant new product developed by Versarien subsidiary 2D Tech Ltd with multiple potential applications. Whilst structurally similar to graphene, it has very different properties and can be used in areas where graphene is not suitable, in particular, where the electrical conductivity or chemical reactivity of graphene is an issue.

These are all materials produced by Versarien's subsidiaries 2D Tech Ltd and Cambridge Graphene Ltd. The tender documentation provides a framework agreement under which purchase orders will be issued by the CPI as they require the Company's materials for the varied projects they are involved with.

Neill Ricketts, CEO of Versarien, commented: "We are very pleased to have been successful in all the tenders we entered into to supply the CPI with our nanomaterials after a competitive process. This provides further significant independent validation of the quality of the materials we are able to supply and we are now moving from supplying graphene in quantities of a few grams to kilogram sized orders.

"The CPI is at the forefront of UK manufacturing innovation, bridging the gap between large global companies and technologies to provide a route for scaling technologies to the levels needed by corporates. We anticipate that the inclusion of our materials in products they are working on will significantly enhance their properties. For Versarien this is an important route for the commercialisation of products enhanced by graphene and other related materials.

"We continue to receive record levels of enquires from potential purchasers of our products globally and look forward to making further announcements as appropriate."

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 053 8671

Tim Metcalfe

Graham Herring

Heather Armstrong

About CPI

The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) is a UK based technology innovation centre and the process arm of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult. Established to support the UK process manufacturing industry, CPI collaborates with universities, SMEs and large corporates to help overcome innovation challenges and develop next generation products and processes. Operating across a broad range of technologies, we support our partners at every step of the way; from concept to market; business support to technology development; from scale up to supply chain intervention. www.uk-cpi.com/ 

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:

Thermal and Hard Wear Products

Versarien Technologies Ltd. which owns the exclusive rights to a patent-protected additive process for creating advanced micro-porous metals targeting the thermal management industry and manufactures extruded aluminium heat sinks for the electronics and computing industries. 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 

Graphene and Plastics

2-DTech Ltd, which specialises in the supply, characterisation and early stage development of graphene products. www.2-dtech.com 

ACC 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