Swedish packaging giant BillerudKorsnäs has signed a joint development agreement (JDA) with Australian company Talga Resources to continue developing graphene packaging technology.
The two companies aim to continue development of packaging technology which incorporates Talphene, Talga’s functionalised graphene product, into BillerudKorsnäs products, said Mark Thompson, managing director of Talga.
“Packaging is a high volume application where graphene can make a material impact to performance, functionality and recycling. We are excited to be advancing our relationship with a global industry leader such as BillerudKorsnäs to enable greener and innovative packaging solutions with our graphene technology,” he said.
According to Dr Magnus Wikström, executive VP of innovation at BillerudKorsnäs, incorporating Talphene into the manufacturer’s packaging will enable a range of performance and environmental benefits, including natural fibre replacement of plastic packaging.
“Talga’s advanced solutions fit very well with BillerudKorsnäs’ vision of challenging conventional packaging for a sustainable future. We are happy for this collaboration and look forward to jointly explore new possibilities together with the Talga team.”
Graphene, a carbon allotrope consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice, is the thinnest and most electrically conductive material ever developed.
Though single-atom graphene is expensive and hard to make, coatings made from layers of small graphene sheets can be employed to selectively allow different substances to pass through it while blocking others, making it a good barrier material.
