You’re probably familiar with graphene – the one-atom-thick sheets of carbon. Graphene is one of the first applications of nanotechnology to achieve worldwide awareness – because it’s useful for applications as varied as high-strength materials, and desalination. Even better, the UK is a world leader in graphene technology.
Andrew Lockley of Exponential Investor speaks to Neill Ricketts, of Versarien plc (LON:VRS). His firm is at the forefront of graphene research – so he’s well placed to update us on the business case for this unusual new technology.
AL: Hi Neill. Can you start off by giving us a little bit about your background and how the business started?
NR: It started off with my chemistry teacher John Nettleship. He’s actually the guy that JK Rowling modelled Professor Snape on. He set me up to do work experience, and after a few different placements I knew what I wanted. I wanted to make things that other people didn’t know to make; I wanted to make those things we dreamed about a reality; I wanted to be an engineer like my father. Like everyone, my career wasn’t a straight line. I made a lot of mistakes along the way, made some epic successes and learnt a lot at every turn. The one thing that was common was that I loved the challenge and that stood me in good stance to do what we have done over the last five or six years. I was a trapped spirit in the corporate world. I had built up a lot of experience, but I wanted to go it alone. So, I and a couple of colleagues broke away. It is never easy moving from a well-paid secure corporate job to the lonely and turbulent world of the startup scene.
AL: So, what does Versarien do?
NR: Well we spotted a gap in the market working with universities and commercialising their fantastic ideas. We are all about taking that idea, and turning it into a product that can be used. We do everything from parts for the oil and gas industry – to the guys in Manchester working with academics using graphene on the cure for cancer.
AL: Graphene has been in the news a lot – but isn’t commercialisation years away?
NR: It is fair to say there has been a lot of excitement. Many columns have been written on this wonder material, since 2004 – when the guys at Manchester University first isolated it. The initial claims have taken a while to wash through – but the investment by central government in facilities like the National Graphene Institute (NGI) has turbocharged the progress. We are a little different to other propositions – having not only bases at University of Manchester and University of Cambridge, but having them as shareholders as well. Although we aren’t cut any special breaks, we are right there in the centre of any action. We benefit from having access to some of the best academics in the world – and so much testing equipment it hurts! There is one microscope at the NGI that is over £2m. It’s the only one in Europe I’m aware of, which looks at single atoms. Having spent a year working on getting the foundations right, we now have independent data for a whole range of materials reinforced with graphene. To be honest, we have been blown away with the results so far. We announced just before Christmas our largest order – and a very significant order globally – for the first real graphene product that demonstrates real performance gains. So, these products are starting to come, and they are coming quickly.
