1 July 2020

Versarien plc

("Versarien", the "Company" or the "Group")

£5 million Innovate UK Loan Agreement

Versarien plc (AIM: VRS), the advanced materials engineering group, is pleased to announce that the Company has been awarded a legally binding £5 million loan facility ("the Loan") by Innovate UK Loans Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of UK Research and Innovation.

Innovate UK has been running an extended pilot innovation loans programme over the past three years with £75 million committed to the scheme with normal loan amounts of up to £1million. The innovation loans are targeted at UK small or medium-sized enterprises (SME) that want to scale up and grow by developing new or improved products, processes or services, as well as late-stage research and development projects that have not yet reached the point of commercialisation.

The UK Government, via Innovate UK, has agreed to the provision of the £5 million Loan to Versarien, the first of such magnitude by Innovate UK specifically for a project named G SCALE, (an acronym for Graphene-Seat, Concrete, Arch, Leisure, Elastomer) which is designed to enable Versarien to significantly increase its manufacture of quality assured graphene.

The award of the loan, which occurred  on 1 July 2020, follows a rigorous process of innovation assessment and is intended to facilitate the production of sufficient quantities of graphene by Versarien to enable market supply of commercial quantities of graphene-enhanced materials.

Loan repayments will commence 45 months after drawdown and be paid over a subsequent period of 36 months.  The Loan attracts at an interest rate of 7.4% per annum with half of the interest deferred until the repayment period commences.  The loan includes normal commercial financial covenants, together with certain operational covenants designed for UK IP protection.

The loan will be available for drawdown following perfection of normal commercial security arrangements in eight quarterly tranches, the first of which drawdowns is expected within the next month. Further, details concerning the Loan will be provided upon the completion of security documentation, which will be announced in due course.

Neill Ricketts, CEO of Versarien, commented: "Versarien is delighted to have been awarded this loan by Innovate UK, which acknowledges the work we are undertaking and advancements made Our vision for the business also sits within the context of the UK government's industrial strategy 'Grand Challenges', which is focused on clean growth, the ageing society, AI and the data economy and the future of mobility. The loan will help Versarien step up its graphene production capacity so that we can expedite the commercial adoption of graphene enhanced materials"

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About Versarien

Versarien plc (AIM: VRS), is an advanced engineering materials group. Leveraging proprietary technology, the Group creates innovative engineering solutions for its clients in a diverse range of industries.  Versarien has seven active subsidiaries operating under two divisions:

Graphene and Plastics

2-DTech Ltd, which specialises in the supply, characterisation and early stage development of graphene products.  2-DTech is based at the Graphene Innovation Engineering Centre, a £60 million facility set up to work in collaboration with industry partners to create, test and optimise new concepts for the delivery of graphene to the market. www.2-dtech.com

AAC Cyroma Limited, which specialises in the supply of vacuum-formed and injection-moulded products to the automotive, construction, utilities and retail industry sectors.  Using Versarien's existing graphene manufacturing capabilities, AAC has the ability to produce graphene-enhanced plastic products.  www.aaccyroma.co.uk

Cambridge Graphene Limited, supplies novel inks based on graphene and related materials, using patented processes to develop graphene materials technology.  www.cambridgegraphene.com

Gnanomat S.L. ("GNA"), based in the Parque Cientifico Madrid, Spain, is a company capable of utilising Versarien's graphene products in an environmentally friendly, scalable production process for energy storage devices that offer high power density, fast recharging and very long lifetimes for use in electrical vehicles and portable electronics products. www.gnanomat.com 

Versarien Graphene Inc - based in Texas, is the recently incorporated sales business for the UK's graphene products.

Hard Wear and Metallic Products

Versarien Technologies Limited has developed an additive process for creating advanced micro-porous metals targeting the thermal management industry and supplies extruded aluminium. www.versarien-technologies.co.uk 

Total Carbide Limited, a leading manufacturer in sintered tungsten carbide for applications in arduous environments such as the oil and gas industry. www.totalcarbide.com 

About Innovate UK

Innovate UK drives productivity and economic growth by supporting businesses to develop and realise the potential of new ideas. It funds businesses and research collaborations to accelerate innovation and drive business development into R&D.

UK Research and Innovation is a new organisation that brings together the UK Research Councils, Innovate UK and Research England into a single organisation to create the best environment for research and innovation to flourish. The vision is to ensure the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation. For more information visit www.ukri.org.