ABB Technology Ventures and Walerud Ventures invest in Graphmatech AB

Graphmatech AB, a Swedish materials technology startup, has closed a seed round from five investors led by ABB Technology Ventures, the venture capital arm of ABB, and Walerud Ventures.

Graphmatech has invented a technology to keep graphene flakes separate. The result, Aros Graphene®, is a powder that can be well dispersed in metals, polymers and fluids, utilized to coat surfaces or 3D-printed without loss of graphene’s properties.

Graphene, the two-dimensional, one atom thick carbon structure, is the strongest material the world has ever seen. It has extremely high electrical and thermal conductivity and is ultra-light and transparent. Graphene is expected to revolutionize engineering materials as well as the power and electronics sectors, but industrial adoption has been slow since its isolation in 2004, mainly due to agglomeration issues. In production, graphene flakes have tended to stick together and thereby lose graphene’s remarkable properties. Graphmatech has solvedthis issue.

Malin Carlström, responsible for investments in Northern Europe, will represent ABB Technology Ventures on the board. Graphmatech is ABB Technology Ventures’ second Swedish investment and the first conducted in a SynerLeapcompany.

“From day one, I have been impressed by the founding team and the properties of Aros Graphene®, says Malin Carlström. “Graphmatech is based on solid research and its potential application areas have also sparked great interest within the ABB organization, resulting in a number of ongoing collaboration projects.”

Jane Walerud chairs the board and works actively alongside the management team. Jane is one of Sweden’s top business angels; her track record of very early stage investments includes, among others, Bluetail, Klarna andLensway.

“I’m excited to help build Graphmatech, Europe’s next big industrial company. Graphmatech will significantly reduce the environmental impact of many industries by enabling the use of graphene in industrial processes and products at scale.

About Graphmatech

Graphmatech AB is a privately held Swedish company based on research from Uppsala University. It develops, produces and sells Aros Graphene® and products including Aros Graphene®. Graphmatech is part of the InnoEnergy Highway and the ABB innovation growth hub, SynerLeap, and has received initial financing from the Swedish Innovation Agency as well as the Swedish Energy Agency.

About ABB Technology Ventures

ABB Technology Ventures (ATV) is the venture capital unit of ABB Group. ATV partners with breakthrough technology companies aligned with ABB’s goal to write the future of industrial digitalization and has invested nearly MUSD 200 into start-ups spanning a range of sectors including robotics, drones, industrial IoT, AI/machine learning, cybersecurity and distributed energy.

For more information, please contact

Dr. Mamoun Taher,co-founderandCEO Malin Carlström, Senior Vice President www.graphmatech.comwww.abb.com/ventures