Graphene, an allotrope of carbon that consists of 10-layers of carbon atoms or less, is used to replace chemical additives in various commercial applications to improve performance. The greatest challenge with traditional graphene, says David Fisher, is producing large volumes of graphene with a consistent high-quality in a cost-affective manner while minimalizing the environmental impact of the production process. We spoke with Fisher, the Co-Founder and CEO of Toronto-based Bio Graphene Solutions, to learn more about how his company’s solution is poised to meet that challenge and make a difference.
Describe your core offering(s). How is your organization contributing to a cleaner, greener future?
Bio Graphene Solutions (BGS) is a manufacturer of consistent, high-quality biographene from 100% organic source materials (non-graphite) via patent-pending cleantech production process. As a performance additive, the company is focused on alleviating environmentally taxing materials in commodity-based applications. BGS is currently focused on removing cement in concrete mix designs – a material that’s responsible for more than 8% of the global CO2 emissions. The company’s graphene-enhanced admixture products can significantly reduce the amount of cement needed in commercial concrete mixes without negatively affecting the strength performance of the final concrete product. As a result, this solution provides significant material and cost-savings and a dramatically improved carbon footprint to the final concrete application.
Other than coffee, what gets you out of bed in the morning? How does this work connect with your core beliefs and values?
Having spent decades in the mining and metals and commodities industries, I’m happy to be on the other side and working toward clean solutions. It’s an exciting time to be a part of global carbon reduction effort. What gets me out of bed daily is talking to partners and investors about the cleantech industry and innovation, as well as our company’s accomplishments and exciting future.
Tell us about a recent win (or wins) or your organization.
At the end of 2022, BGS was named to the Foresight 50, which recognizes the country’s top 50 investable cleantech companies in Canada. In December, we announced the final development of the company’s first graphene-enhanced product for the concrete market. We’ve also filed two process patents around our unique graphene production technologies.
What’s next for your organization?
We’re working on finalizing our Series B Round of financing that will allow us to scale up our Cambridge Innovation Centre to produce approximately 20-30 metric tons of biographene annually, thus bringing BGS into a profitable state.
We’re excited to be working with our primary product development market products (concrete and asphalt), and also with our secondary market product development partners in thermoplastics, polypropylene plastics, automotive foam, paints and pigments, water filtration and EV battery materials.
Finally, what’s on your team’s wish list for Ontario’s cleantech sector?
Flow-through offerings for cleantech is something we’d like to see broadly discussed and implemented. It has been a common practice in the mining and oil and gas industry, and it affords public companies the tax deduction equivalent to the amount invested. With the global climate challenge we’re facing, flow-through offerings would raise awareness of cleantech initiatives and drive more engagement and participation, which would result in meaningful change.
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