Directa Plus PLC (AIM:DCTA, OTC:DTPKF) said it has been awarded a €136,000 grant from the Italian region of Lombardy to develop paints and coverings with its G+ graphene nano-platelets.
“This grant from the Lombardy local government will help fund Directa Plus to develop these potentially disruptive products in a faster timeframe than we could have achieved using our own resources,” said founder and chief executive Giulio Cesareo in a statement.
Directa has created a new technology, called Grafyshield, a granular, semi-finished G+ formulation for the coatings market. Grafyshield is “designed to be easy to handle and mixable with resins using mixing equipment,” the producer and supplier of nano-platelets-based products said.
The target for the new formulation is to bring anti-corrosion and flame-retardant properties to the final paint system.
Potentially, Grafyshield could be used to enhance the paint’s thermal and electrical conductivity, as well as improve anti-friction and anti-fouling performance, the company said.
"Paints and coverings are very large global markets which we believe would be receptive to new, technology-led products,” added Cesareo.