A Calgary-based company has unveiled a new process to produce fullerenes and their derivatives, which are among the world's most valuable materials, on a large scale.
Fullerenes are hollow spherical structures composed of interconnected carbon atoms with unique properties that make them highly valuable and versatile, like exceptional strength, and high thermal and electrical conductivity.
Fullerenes can be applied in a wide range of fields, including electronics, materials science, energy storage, biomedical research, and more.
While fullerenes have been known to science since 1985, their mass production has remained a challenge. Rain Cage Carbon has overcome this hurdle with its large-scale production of fullerenes and their derivatives.
Blair Aiken, co-founder of Rain Cage Carbon, drew a historical parallel.
"500,000 years ago, the discovery of fire changed civilization forever. Now, Rain Cage Carbon has taken another historic leap as we explore innovative new mechanisms to protect the environment from harmful emissions,” Aiken said in a statement.
According to the CEO, the company's carbon capture and reuse technologies enable the conversion of carbon dioxide emissions into incredibly valuable materials, some worth over US$167 million per gram.
The new process could lead to multiple commercial paths. In the field of electronics, fullerenes can be used in the development of advanced semiconductors and organic photovoltaic cells. Their conductivity and structure make them suitable for applications in nanotechnology and quantum computing.
In medicine, fullerenes have shown promise in drug delivery systems, as antioxidants, and in photodynamic therapy for cancer treatment.
Rain Cage has already partnered with Calgary-based Voyageur Pharmaceuticals Ltd (TSX-V:VM, OTC:VYYRF) to develop fullerene-based contrast agents using Rain Cage's innovative EDEN carbon capture technology.
Voyageur is planning to utilize nanocarbons produced by the EDEN system to create safer and more advanced contrast agents for medical imaging.
Initially, Voyageur has secured the rights to develop fullerene-based imaging agents for North America, with plans for global expansion as development milestones are achieved and production capacity increases.
Because fullerenes had a high chemical stability and resistance to degradation, making them ideal for radiology contrast applications, Voyageur aims to create carbon-neutral and safer contrast agents that play a vital role in clearly delineating specific body areas during radiological examinations.
Rain Cage plans to announce several new proprietary technologies based on this discovery later in 2023, alongside upcoming decarbonization deployment projects set to launch in the third quarter of this year.
Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com
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