Graphene Manufacturing Group Ltd (TSX-V:GMG, OTCQX:GMGMF) CEO Craig Nicol talked with Proactive about the company's latest milestone — a commercial collaboration with global HVAC distributor Beijer Ref.
Nicol said the agreement marks a key step in deploying GMG’s graphene-based coating technology across the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC-R) sector.
Starting mid-November, Beijer Ref customers in Australia will be able to opt for the coating on condenser and evaporator coolers.
The rollout will cover Beijer Ref’s 73 Australian locations. Nicol said the partnership offers customers energy efficiency benefits and a five-year warranty when applied by certified contractors. He added that GMG's Spray Academy, now running both in-person and online training, is crucial to ensuring consistent application standards.
Nicol also outlined how GMG’s coating fits into broader energy efficiency goals. With 24% of Australia’s electricity usage linked to air conditioning, and grid strain during peak heat driven by inefficient units, GMG’s solution targets significant reductions in power demand.
Over time, GMG hopes to expand the rollout to additional countries and partners.
Proactive: Hello you're watching Proactive, I'm joined by Craig Nicol, CEO of Graphene Manufacturing Group. Craig, very good to speak with you. Could you start off by telling us how significant the collaboration with Beijer Ref for your product commercialization strategy is, and what it means for your entry into the mainstream HVAC-R markets?
Craig Nicol: Thanks, and thanks for having me back on. The announcement we made two weeks ago now with Beijer Ref was a very important milestone for our graphene coating for HVAC industry. Beijer Ref is one of the largest distributors of air conditioning and refrigeration products globally. We've been working with them for some time, and it's good to get to this point.
Basically, from mid-November, their customers will have the option of having a graphene coating on their condenser and evaporator coolers. We hope it will be taken up by customers, and through a distribution system we will be able to coat that within a short timeframe.
It’s a big milestone for the company and also for the air conditioning industry, because I don’t think this type of service is otherwise available. So, big steps all around.
Can you give investors a sense of the potential commercial impact in terms of expected sales volumes or revenue contribution, because this is the rollout across Beijer Ref’s 73 locations in Australia?
Yeah, we’re quietly optimistic about it providing some relatively good revenue. Beijer Ref will obviously be helping their revenue with this as well. We’re definitely optimistic.
There’s the opportunity for people to get a five-year warranty on their graphene coating, which has been proven to increase the heat transfer rate. So, the refrigeration coolers become more efficient, with longer life and better performance. I think everyone’s going to win.
Let’s see how the numbers go. This is just one country, one company. We can obviously launch it in other countries and with other companies. Beijer Ref is a major business in this industry, one of the largest by far, so it’s great to be working with them.
Craig, you're training certified contractors through the GMG Spray Academy. How critical is that program to ensuring product consistency and maintaining GMG’s reputation as this scales up?
Yeah, it's a great question. The important thing is that we actually have certified base coat applicators. When you have a certified applicator, we can then provide that five-year warranty. That warranty will come with customer benefits.
The Spray Academy has already launched in Australia. We’ve done one physical, in-person session and another is coming shortly. We’re also launching our first global online Spray Academy in the next two weeks.
We’ll roll that out around the world in different formats, including online learning. Certification ensures coating quality and performance, which is important so customers get the true benefits of our product.
Craig, beyond this partnership, how do you see graphene-based coatings fitting against the global energy efficiency and sustainability trend in HVAC? And what role is GMG going to play in that transition?
Fantastic question. So, 24% of Australia's electricity needs are related to air conditioning. Another amazing stat is that about one-quarter of the grid is used for just 1% of the time — those really hot days — because of relatively inefficient air conditioners causing spikes in power demand.
Billions of dollars are being spent right now in the grid, just in Australia, because of inefficient air conditioners. We aim to help with that.
As more air conditioners are coated with our coating, power demand on hot days will reduce due to improved efficiency, and therefore grid demand will be less.
Energy efficiency is an unsexy but very important way of de-risking renewables and energy security. We provide an important product and technology in this space.
Our job is to get more people to know about our product, test it, use it, and then see the benefits. Then, you’ll start to see grid problems reduce — and we know that.
Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity and style