With the introduction of its second-generation LOOP technology, the British climate technology company Levidian will be able to produce high-quality graphene in industrial quantities for the first time. 
By using Levidian LOOP technology, heavy emitters and hard-to-abate industries like aluminum and landfills may decarbonize their operations and create new revenue streams from the hydrogen and graphene they produce.
This enables decarbonization initiatives that might not otherwise be feasible because of financial constraints. A unique nozzle at the center of LOOP uses microwave energy to break down methane into its constituent parts, producing clean hydrogen and absorbing carbon as high-purity graphene.
About 15 tons of graphene can be produced annually from a single nozzle, which is sufficient to improve the performance of thousands of electric cars with graphene-enhanced batteries and tires, allowing them to travel farther and longer while having a less environmental effect.
By 2030, the business hopes to have a network of LOOP devices producing more than 50,000 tons of graphene annually, making Levidian one of the world’s major graphene producers*.
Levidian already has ten LOOPs in operation or in the works throughout the world, including a ground-breaking biogas to hydrogen pilot at United Utilities’ Manchester Bioresources Centre, which is funded by the Hydrogen BECCS Innovation Programme of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
Levidian uses a patented plasma process to break down methane into hydrogen and carbon, in contrast to existing graphene production methods that usually begin with environmentally damaging graphite mining.
The low temperature, low pressure LOOP process is very effective, doesn’t need water or a catalyst, and doesn’t release any extra carbon dioxide.
High-quality graphene, which is created when carbon is collected, can enhance the quality of a variety of products, including solar panels, batteries, and thermoplastics.
Additionally, the business has a committed group of scientists who can functionalize and customize the material to assist clients in incorporating graphene into their current goods and processes, leading to significant increases in performance and carbon footprint.
Key Comments
Chief Technology Officer, Alistair Donaldson said, “We’re unlocking a future for graphene that has been 20 years in the making. Over the last year, our team has been relentlessly focused on driving forward the design of the nozzle, delivering a 20x uplift in gas processing and graphene production, and finding opportunities to scale our technology alongside growing customer demand.
John Hartley, CEO of Levidian said, “We believe that graphene is going to play a central role in helping the world’s most carbon intensive businesses to decarbonise, solving the business case on decarbonisation projects thanks to its short return on investment, and delivering performance improvements on just about every product it touches.
“With this latest technology release, we’re setting graphene on a pathway to the mainstream, putting all the old issues of quality and scale aside to deliver unparalleled levels of graphene production that is less carbon intensive, more affordable and a higher quality than anything else on the market today.”
“But we know it’s not enough to just make graphene. We‘re opening up this supermaterial as a viable solution to industrial decarbonisation, addressing the concerns of major global industries who have been put off in the past, and giving them access to the world’s leading experts in graphene to help them secure performance improvements that will set them apart from the competition.”