Versarien acquire 85% of graphene start-up

Versatile materials company Versarien has acquired 85% of the shares in the University of Manchester subsidiary 2-D Tech Limited. The deal is a step towards creating Graphene City in Manchester, where the National Graphene Institute is set to open within the next year. Versarien will also set up and intellectual property and research collaboration with the University, investing an initial £300,000 in two projects which will add to its own and 2-DTech’s product range. Start-up company 2-DTech offers a range of graphene services from materials supply and characterisation work, through to consulting and proof-of-principle work on applications and processes. “We are very excited by this partnership,” said Branson Belle, CTO of 2-DTech. “Versarian brings real-life experience in process scale-up and manufacturing to complement 2-DTech’s understanding of the nature and quality threshold requirements for various applications of graphene, which is a rare skill set.” “I am delighted that we have been able to agree this arrangement with Versarien which takes 2-DTech to a new level and allows the University to share in the future success of the business by remaining a shareholder,” said Clive Rowland, CEO of the University’s Innovation Group, UMI3.