Levidian Nanosystems Limited (also known just as Levidian, formerly Cambridge Nanosystems) is a manufacturing company that specialises in the production of

graphene Graphene () is a carbon allotrope consisting of a Single-layer materials, single layer of atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice, honeycomb planar nanostructure. The name "graphene" is derived from "graphite" and the suffix -ene, indicating ...

Background

The company has developed a process to produce

at ultra-high quality and on a larger scale than has previously been possible by using

biogas Biogas is a gaseous renewable energy source produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste, Wastewater treatment, wastewater, and food waste. Biogas is produced by anaerobic ...

waste products such as Methane. Cambridge Nanosystems was spun out of

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in 2012, and in 2014 began partnering with

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Felda Global Ventures Holdings FGV Holdings Berhad (Abbreviation: FGV, sometimes FGVH; or formerly Felda Global Ventures Holdings Berhad; ) is a Malaysian-based global agribusiness and food company. It is an affiliate of the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA). With ...

Berhad (FGV), a global agricultural and commodities business. FGV has abundant supplies of Methane as that is a by-product of their large-scale

palm oil production Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from oi ...

. They aim to achieve synergy through the relationship with Cambridge Nanosystems whose technology will enable that waste material to be turned into valuable

Graphene Graphene () is a carbon allotrope consisting of a Single-layer materials, single layer of atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice, honeycomb planar nanostructure. The name "graphene" is derived from "graphite" and the suffix -ene, indicating ...

. In December 2014, Cambridge Nanosystems was awarded £500,000 from the UK's Technology Strategy Board in order to increase capacity of their material. The funds were used to develop a manufacturing facility in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

with the capability of producing up to 100 tonnes of

a year for the European market. FGV and Cambridge Nanosystems are planning to build another plant in Malaysia to supply the Asian market. The company founders are Dr Krzysztof Koziol, Jerome Joaug, Lukasz Kurzepa and Catharina Paukner. Chief scientist, Catharina Paukner has been described in the United Kingdom media as "The First Lady of Graphene" and one of the eight UK business leaders to watch in 2015. In January 2015, Dr Anna Mieczakowski joined the management team as the first non co-founder in the role of Chief Operating Officer. On 19 March 2015, the company won the Hewitsons Award for Business Innovation 2015 at a business award gala organised by Barclays and Cambridge News. In September 2015, Cambridge Nanosystems has achieved the internationally recognised ISO 9001 certification, establishing it as one of the leaders in its field. In April 2021, the company went through an acquisition and changed names to Levidian Nanosystems. In May 2022, the company announced that its LOOP technology will be developed across

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

LOOP Technology

Levidian's LOOP technology cracks

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The abundance of methane on Earth makes ...

into

hydrogen Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...

and

carbon Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...

, before locking the carbon into high-quality green graphene. It uses plasma technology to separate methane into its constituent atoms: carbon, locked into high-quality graphene, and hydrogen, which can either be used immediately or stored for future use.

References

{{Reflist Manufacturing companies based in Cambridge British companies established in 2012 Chemical companies of England