Talga Resources Ltd announced the commencement of a new large scale commercial trial of its Talcoat graphene additive for maritime coatings.

At the core of the Talcoat product is Talga’s new patent-pending graphene functionalization technology in the form of an on-site dispersible powder that can successfully add graphene’s exceptional strength into paint and coatings.

Supported by the same shipowner, Talga has provided its next-generation graphene additive to enhance a primer coating successfully applied over a sizeable area of a second large container ship.

Unlike the first trial (ASX:TLG 4 Oct 2019), the Talcoat product and the 2-part epoxy-based commercial coating system were supplied separately and mixed on-site by the paint applicators before spray application to the vessel during dry-docking.

The application of the coating was successful in meeting all conditions and standards required for ships of this size, confirming the potential of the Talcoat product as a ready-mix component for on-site incorporation by coating companies or paint applicators alike.

To further test the versatility and compatibility of the Talcoat additive, the trial used a commercial coating system from a world-leading coating supplier different from that used in the first trial.

The ocean-going cargo vessel, of similar size to the initial container ship being approximately 225m long and weighing 33,000 tons, has re-entered service at sea where over the next 12-18 months the test area will be evaluated on the performance boost delivered to the coating system.

“We continue taking graphene out of the lab and into the real world with these large scale coating trials underway on cargo ships,” Talga Managing Director Mark Thompson said. “This application joins the other large scale clean technology product verticals we have been developing for several years such as graphene-enhanced concrete, plastics and packaging products.”