Australian advanced graphene additives provider Talga Resources Ltd (ASX:TLG) has commenced a commercial- scale trial of a Talga graphene-enhanced coating applied to a 33,000t container ship.
Believed to be the world’s largest single application of graphene, the 700 sq. metre coating of the cargo vessel’s hull is part of advanced testing of Talga’s functionalised graphene (Talphene) additive as a performance booster for existing commercial marine coatings.
Talga’s Managing Director, Mark Thompson, said the commercial-scale application follows completion of in-house development and patent pending technology that successfully translates graphene’s exceptional mechanical properties into paint and coatings.
He said the result is expected to be a range of environmental and economic benefits, which for marine applications such as shipping and offshore infrastructure includes improved corrosion resistance, decreased metallic paint loss into oceanic ecosystems and increased efficiency through lowering dry docking cycles.
The maritime coating sector is a very large market and well suited to use of our Talphene graphene additives for improved environmental and economic outcomes,” Mr Thompson said.
“Additionally, by successfully taking this new product from the laboratory to commercial- scale application on a 33,000 tonne ship, being tested across global marine environments, we are showcasing our graphene’s real-world potential as a bulk industrial product.”
Mr Thompson said the freshly coated ship is now at sea and over the coming 12-18 months the Talphene-coated area will be evaluated in the harsh real life conditions of global cargo shipping.
Coatings are one of Talga’s key target products due to the large volume market and graphene’s potential to provide substantial new levels of performance and environmental sustainability.
Within the global, approximately 54 million tonne per annum paint and coatings market, the marine coatings segment is projected to grow to US$12 Billion by 2024.
