Zen Graphene Solutions (TSXV: ZEN) and the Nanomaterials and Polymer Nanocomposites Laboratory at the University of British Columbia‐Okanagan Campus received a $200,000-award from Canada’s Department of National Defence to develop electrically conductive, moulded and 3D printed graphene/polymer nanocomposites as more versatile replacements for metallic electromagnetic shields that are currently in use.
In a press release, Zen said the company will be providing in-kind contributions of its Albany Pure materials and consultation with its technical team.
If this initial research phase yields positive results, the Department of National Defence may choose to advance the project to Phase 2 with a $1-million grant
Recently, the Thunder Bay-based firm started to engineer processes for the manufacturing of products based on its trademarked Albany Pure Graphene, which is sourced from graphite extracted at the Albany deposit in Ontario.
According to Zen, the new shields being developed with the UBCO team led by researcher Mohammad Arjmand will be lightweight and corrosion-resistant, as well as low-cost, easy to manufacture and with improved design options compared to current metallic shields.
“In this collaboration, the developed conductive polymer shields will protect sensitive electronic equipment in satellites; however, the shields will also have use in a broad spectrum of applications in various industries, such as information technology, medical sciences, automotive, defence, and aerospace,” the media brief states. “The technology of developing 3D printing multifunctional polymer nanocomposite filaments will also allow for the rapid, low-cost fabrication of complex geometries of multifunctional polymer nanocomposites such as artificial electromagnetic shields.”