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How to Invest in Graphene
The Timeline of Graphene
Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, both of the University of Manchester were credited with the discovery of graphene and as a result won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Graphene is 200 times stronger than steel and more robust than a diamond. As used here robustness refers to, “the ability of a structure to withstand events like fire, explosions, impact or consequences of human error, without being damaged to an extent disproportionate to the original cause.”
Anyone familiar with the robustness of diamonds will be more impressed by this fact, than the “200 times stronger than steel” line that would impress the layperson more. This is worth keeping in mind as we read on.
Though unproven, reasonable theoretical applications include the creation of synthetic plasma and various potential cancer treatment methods.
What companies are great for Graphene Investment Opportunities? Graphene will likely put the power of up to 10,000 mainframes into the typical tablet or smartphone at some point in the near future.
Scientists also theorize that graphene could help clump together radioactive waste, making disposal remarkably safe, clean and efficient. During tragedies like the Fukushima meltdown, graphene could not only serve a valuable economic, but priceless social benefit.
This is an important factor to note because it could lead to a far lighter regulation note being placed on graphene-based products as they’re manufactured and put into mass production.
Perhaps the biggest cause of excitement surrounding graphene is the active attempt by a slew of scientists to replace the silicon inside of semiconductor wafers with graphene. We can only imagine what this will do to the “Silicon Valley” moniker.
For this reason, some have taken to calling graphene stock “Moore’s Murderer.” The reference is to Moore’s Law, a historical observation of computer hardware claiming chip performance would double every 18 months. If graphene can do what most knowledgeable minds seem to think it can, chip performance could theoretically grow exponentially overnight, thereby making Moore’s Law as obsolete as blind faith in a flat planet.
Graphene Investment Opportunities are so good, they are already a part of our daily lives. Graphite in pencils, batteries, brake linings, foundry facings, charcoal and lubricants, all daily products with consumers…but it is also the basic structural element of other allotropes, including graphite, charcoal, carbon nanotubes and fullerenes.
The properties of graphene are so amazing that they have the potential to revolutionize multiple industries. Sensors, batteries, computing, touch screens, electronics, water filtration and salinization, organic solar cells, energy generation and storing, medicine and much more.
Graphene is already a part of our Daily Lives
As the world’s thinnest material graphene is considered a two-dimensional object, while also being flexible and transparent. It also conducts electricity more efficiently than a semiconductor and is an exceptional heat conductor.
And though the temptation is to look towards technology and manufacturing, the medical devices, biotech and healthcare markets, are all venues where the carbon-based Graphene may have the most investment impact. As we all know, tech and bio stocks tend to do very well in strong performing markets, so just imagine how well such stocks could have performed in recent years with Graphene-backed products.
Graphene Investment Opportunities also include the standardization of Graphene as a medical/medicinal component, and its potential to enter the human body without damaging the immune system would give it a remarkably beneficial characteristic as a drug delivery mechanism. Graphene also has properties which can aid in bone-rebuilding processes and create the biological structures needed to create organs and tissues.
Is Graphene Investing a Good Idea?
Here’s an example of what Graphene Investment Opportunities we are all most interested in, the investment value and the rarely-seen, always-profitable synergistic link between government and industry. Namely, the European Union recently awarded Nokia (NYSE: NOK) with a $1.35 billion grant to research the commercial applications of Graphene.
Can anyone really imagine how much a company like Phizer or Johnson & Johnson may get from the US government to research healthcare applications of Graphene?
The point of the example is to illustrate that when a material has the ability to affect positive societal change and advancement, as well as being worthwhile for the investment set, a far greater likelihood of success will emerge.
Rarely does an investment opportunity come along that seems to have everyone’s support and very rarely does such an opportunity result in anything but profits to investors. Graphene Stock has been amazing.
As someone kicking the tires on investing in Graphene, these should all be very positive signs. It truly is strange that more investors aren’t talking about Graphene, but at a time when information flows so freely and is so readily available, perhaps it is in the smart money’s interest not to talk too much about a very good thing?
How to Invest in Graphene Stocks
Now that you have a basic idea of what graphene is, let’s dive into how you can invest when the time is right.
First of all, despite the potentially limitless applications, getting in on the ground floor is not without its challenges. In other words, there’s no quick and easy way to invest in Graphene Stock is to think of it as a commodity, or the graphite carbon it’s made from.
Many would say that this is due to China controlling a lion’s share of the market. There is truth to this notion.
Great Graphene Companies to Invest In
Approximately 70 percent of graphite mining takes place in China and Beijing is carefully limiting exports in addition to charging a 20 percent export duty. Another 14 percent of mining takes place in India and aside from direct ownership investments, it’s pretty tough to access this production capacity. These prohibitive factors combined with savvy investor excitement about the potential of graphene have caused the price to more than triple in the past five years.
Graphene Investment Opportunities: The other immediate option are publicly-traded Western graphite miners on track to begin producing graphene. Many of the best Graphene Companies to Invest In, however, have not matured to show a profit and live in thin trading volume environments with high-risk bid-ask spread divergences.
If this scenario reminds some of you of the REE (rare earth elements) craze of recent investor memory, you are definitely doing your proper due diligence. Congratulations on that. However, be advised that the practical application potential of graphene dwarfs anything REEs were and are good for. Graphene is a smart investment, it just happens to be volatile and in infancy.
A company worth looking into is XG Sciences, Inc., one of the largest US based graphene suppliers. XG may be a worthy investment on its own, that remains to be seen. It is, however, a great example of how you can invest in graphene without overtly taking large market risks.
Graphene Stocks to consider:
XG Sciences manufactures graphene nanoplatelets for use in advanced materials and energy applications. CEO, Mike Knox claims that the company has 80 tons of annual production capacity, making it the world's largest for this type of nano-material.
Another Graphene Stock In January 2011, 19% of XG Sciences was purchased by Hanhwa Chemical, a Korean chemical company which has since grown to a hundred billion dollar conglomerate dealing with everything from energy to financial services.
Hanhwa's great investment opportunity happens to extend well beyond Korea into other Asian countries and has rights to sell graphene in India and China, a major potential boon to this business. They invest in graphene in the form of carbon nanotubes, for various industrial uses. Hanhwa is listed on the Korean stock exchange under number 009830.
Another 20% of XG Sciences is owned by POSCO (NYSE:PKX), one of the world’s largest producers of steel, also a Korean company. POSCO uses graphene from XG Sciences to develop new materials and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the code NYSE: PKX.
This a classic example of how to enter a volatile arena without taking too many chances. Take a deeper look into these Graphene Companies business affairs of the two companies above. Both have clear-cut reasons to invest into graphene, a major one of which (especially for steel producer POSCO) is risk management.
Since graphene’s properties suggest that it could (in the very long run) replace or displace steel as an instrumental production cog, it is likely that large steel manufacturers are Investment Opportunities would invest heavily into it.
A telltale defensive play by any large company is to invest into any disruptive technology which may displace its premier bread winner eventually.
This is almost always a great entry investment play for forward-thinking investors into markets that don’t often allow “the little guy” to play from the beginning.
