One black swan…

Thomas Swan & Co. has completed a joint venture transaction in large-scale graphene production with Canadian-based graphite firm Mason Graphite. Black Swan Graphene (BSG) will be based in Québec, Canada, and will seek to penetrate industrial markets with low-cost graphene. CEO Harry Swan and Michael Edwards, business director for the Advanced Materials division, will join the BSG board.

Under the agreement, BSG has acquired Swan’s graphene patent and know-how for £3 million in cash, 33.33% of the shares in BSG and a back-licence allowing Swan to continue to make and sell volumes of up to 1,000 tonnes/year, of graphene. Swan will provide technical, production and commercialisation expertise through a services agreement.

Separately, Swan is partnering with Impact Biomedical and Global Research & Discovery Group Sciences (GRDG) to study Procombin, which is described as a range of plant-derived synergistic agents designed to boost the efficacy of antibiotics, preservatives, and other antimicrobial agents. Commercial details were not disclosed.

They plan to conduct various studies of its effectiveness in combination with key preservatives for use in applications, including household and institutional cleaning and personal care. With the number of safe and effective preservatives shrinking all the time, said Swan Chemical president Ray Fahmy, “Procombin looks to nature for plant-derived, sustainable solutions to boosting today’s preservation systems”.