Thunder Bay, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 27, 2019) - ZEN Graphene Solutions Ltd. (TSXV: ZEN) ("ZEN" or the "Company") is pleased to report on its recent activities including work on a novel electrochemical process for the production of 1-2 layer graphene oxide, graphite material processing and inventory plus encouraging preliminary results using reduced graphene oxide as a grain refinement additive for aluminum casting. The company is also pleased to announce that Mr. Greg Fenton has taken on a more active role in the day-to-day operations and has accepted the role of Chief Strategy Officer.
ZEN in collaboration with its university research partners has been developing a novel electrochemical process to produce graphene oxide (GO) from high-purity Albany Graphite. This new process has the potential to reduce chemical consumption by close to 100 times compared to the current Modified Hummers method thereby resulting in a significantly cleaner, environmentally friendly process and reducing the cost of production. Preliminary characterization work suggests that this GO is similar to the high quality, 1 to 2 layer material that has been produced by the current Modified Hummers method. Work continues to characterize the GO to ensure a consistent, high-quality product, along with process optimization and eventual scale up.
The Company currently has an inventory of approximately 110 tonnes of graphite-mineralized material with an average grade of 6% graphitic carbon (Cg), 110 kilograms of 86% Cg material, 18 kilograms of 99.8% Cg, and 300 grams of GO. The Company will continue to process material and manufacture graphene-related products on an as-needed basis for research and development (R&D), marketing and soon to start building an inventory for ZEN's proposed webstore which has an anticipated launch date in the first quarter of 2020.
In the last few weeks, the research team at the University of British Columbia-Okanagan (UBC-O) has started producing Graphene Quantum Dots (GQDs) with the eventual goal of scaling up the process and producing 10 grams of GQDs per day. These products will be used both for R&D and for retail sale.
The Company has also received encouraging preliminary results from UBC-O regarding using reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO) to enhance the mechanical performance of aluminum casting alloys. The current industry standard to achieve grain refinement and improve mechanical performance uses commercial Titanium-based compounds. Early results show that ZEN's rGO produces similar results to the industry standard compounds, but rGO does not decrease the aluminium's electrical and thermal conductivity both of which are important characteristics for many industry applications.
ZEN is also pleased announce that Mr. Greg Fenton has accepted a more active role as the Company's Chief Strategy Officer. Greg Fenton joined the ZEN's Board of Directors in July 12, 2019 and has worked closely with Dr. Francis Dubé to develop the Company's strategic plan. Mr. Fenton is a Chartered Financial Analyst and seasoned investment professional, with a Bay Street career spanning nearly 30 years. He has worked in various capacities throughout his career with increasing responsibility in both the Canadian banking and investment management sectors. His past roles included being a partner in three investment management firms, heading the Risk Solutions Group at Scotiabank and leading Liability Driven Investment Group at National Bank Financial.
In his current role, Mr. Fenton leads a company that provides balance sheet optimization and investment services to Canadian and international corporations, utilizing proprietary technology to extract efficiencies across the corporation's global footprint. His experience spans many disciplines including: capital markets, investment management, actuarial, pension, insurance, accounting, tax and risk management. He also acts as an advisory board member to numerous corporations.
Dr. Francis Dubé commented: "Mr. Fenton has been instrumental in the company's strategic planning and risk management since he joined ZEN. With ZEN now entering a significant growth stage, having Mr. Fenton directly involved in the day to day operations will be even more important."
About ZEN Graphene Solutions Ltd.
ZEN Graphene Solutions Ltd. is an emerging graphene technology company with a focus on development of the unique Albany Graphite Project. This precursor graphene material provides the company with a competitive advantage in the potential graphene market as independent labs in Japan, UK, Israel, USA and Canada have demonstrated that ZEN's Albany Graphite easily converts (exfoliates) to graphene, using a variety of simple mechanical and chemical methods.
To find out more on ZEN Graphene Solutions Ltd., please visit our website at www.ZENGraphene.com. A copy of this news release and all material documents in respect of the Company may be obtained on ZEN's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.ca.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements", which often, but not always, can be identified by the use of words such as "potential", "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", or "plan". These statements are based on information currently available to ZEN and ZEN provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although ZEN believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. ZEN disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The Company's full disclosure can be found at https://zengraphene.com/disclaimer/
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