Graphene Manufacturing Group Ltd (TSX-V:GMG, OTCQX:GMGMF) CEO Craig Nicol talked with Proactive about the company's strategic advancements and ongoing efforts in the US market.
Nicol highlighted the progress of GMG's Thermal XR product, particularly its growing interest among major manufacturers across different sectors in the U.S. He also discussed the regulatory challenges they face, particularly with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the steps they are taking to gain full Pre-Manufacture Notice (PMN) approval. Despite the anticipated longer approval timeline, Nicol emphasized the broader market opportunities this approval would unlock.
Proactive: Let's start with your Thermal XR product. It looks like you're making significant progress toward commercialization in the US. Could you provide more details?
Craig Nicol: It’s great to be back. We’re very pleased with the customer engagement in the U.S. We have numerous major manufacturers across various sectors who are highly interested in our product and are currently testing it for different opportunities.
In the meantime, you’re progressing toward obtaining pre-manufacture approval to import and sell your product in the U.S. Could you explain the process and the steps involved?
Yes, this is a bit of a challenge. We initially sought a low-volume exemption from the EPA for our graphene coating under our new Calgon distribution agreement from late last year and early this year. However, we discovered that the EPA is no longer interested in granting low-volume exemptions. They prefer a full Pre-Manufacture Notice (PMN), which is uncapped and can potentially cover various sectors.
We’ve compiled all the necessary information for the PMN application and have now contracted a large consultant who has previously secured EPA approval for graphene. Each country has its own regulatory processes, but we already have approvals in Australia, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Singapore. We can also enter the Chinese market easily. Thus, the U.S. is the final hurdle for regulatory approvals.
While the PMN process will take longer than initially expected, it will allow us access to a much larger, essentially uncapped market across multiple sectors, rather than just air conditioning, which was our initial focus. We plan to submit the PMN by the end of October and expect it to take no more than 12 months to receive approval, though it could potentially be faster if we can position it as an environmental protection product due to its energy-saving benefits for air conditioning. For now, we’re aiming for approval within 12 months.
Are you conducting production coating trials as well?
Yes, for some time now, we’ve been conducting coating trials for various companies across different sectors, including personal electronics, air conditioning products, and even LNG plants, trucks, and train components. We’re now in what we consider the "final mile," where the coating is being trialed in the factory setting. Before these large companies can move to full production, they need to see the coating perform effectively at the factory level. We have several major companies at this stage, which is very exciting.
Of course, our shareholders, as well as I, would love to see revenue and contract announcements. However, this is the necessary process. We are essentially setting the standard for energy-saving coatings, and we anticipate significant opportunities that will demonstrate both the breadth and depth of our potential.
Moving on to one of our other technologies, we recently provided an update on our graphene-aluminum-ion battery technology. We have a major public company, Rio Tinto—one of the largest miners and aluminum producers in the world—as our partner in developing this battery for their large trucks.
Although we initially aimed to release sample results by the end of June, we have not done so yet. We want to ensure that the samples are fully optimized and third-party tested before issuing any results. We’re working through the iterative process of optimizing the electrolyte in the battery, which is intensive and involves testing various parameters to achieve the best performance.
Overall, the key point is that we are maintaining our timeline for the pilot plant. We aim to have it operational by the end of next year, as initially planned. The main message from our press release is that while we have not yet released performance data, we are still on track to meet our project timeline.
Quotes have been ligthly edited for clarity and style