A TECHNOLOGY firm developing a wonder substance says tests have proved its material can play a key role in paints and coatings.

Applied Graphene Materials (AGM) says preliminary findings show its graphene increases the scratch resistance and strength of polyurethane coatings.

Bosses say the experiments, which are ongoing, also prove its graphene doesn’t affect the transparency or colour of products.

Polyurethane coatings are used to protect equipment across the automotive and aircraft sectors.

Jon Mabbitt, AGM’s chief executive, said: “The results confirm our own research findings and indicate these results can be translated to higher volume applications.

“With a scalable manufacturing process and a strong supporting technical team, we are well placed to help our customers apply and exploit graphene in their end products and markets.”

The announcement comes after AGM, based at Wilton, near Redcar, reported wider financial losses, despite experiencing record demand from customers and rising production in the six months to January 31.

Those successes came against pre-tax losses of £1.9m, up from £1.2m a year ago, with a deficit across earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization widening from £820,000 to £1.8m.

Graphene can conduct electricity a million times better than copper, despite being as thin as human hair, and Mr Mabbitt said the firm’s added costs were the result of its push to get a foothold in the market, with cash spent on production and overheads, including increasing its near 30-strong workforce.

Since Graphene was isolated by scientists at Manchester University ten years ago, it has been hailed as a material set to revolutionise manufacturing by helping to produce a dazzling array of applications, from bendable mobile phones to almost unbreakable tennis rackets.

It is also 200 times stronger than steel, with some experts predicting a sheet of graphene as thin as clingfilm could support an elephant.

To capitalise on its revolutionary potential, AGM has developed and owns the intellectual property rights for a form of graphene, which can be used as an additive in paints, coatings, plastics, lubricants and resins.

It previously raised £11m from a flotation on the Alternative Investment Market, and secured Government funding for two projects.

Those deals have allowed AGM to work with DuPont Teijin Films to investigate the use and dispersion of graphene in polyester films, as well as PolyPhotonix and the Centre for Process Innovation, in Sedgefield, County Durham, on the development of graphene-based transparent electrodes.