Ionic Industries Ltd, an Australian early stage technology company, is seeking to raise $2.8 million in new capital to fund the next stage of its program for research and commercialisation of the use of graphene technologies.

The funds will be raised through a new rights issue and general offer of 283 million shares at $0.01 (1 cent) per share, with one free attaching option for every new share applied for, exercisable at $0.02 (2 cents) per option on or before 30 June 2020.

The rights issue provides investors with an attractive tax incentive for early stage investors under the Australian government’s Innovation policies, including a 20% tax deduction of the cost of shares in Ionic as an Early Stage Investment Company (ESIC) and capital gains tax (CGT) exemption for up to 10 years.

According to Ionic Industries’ Managing Director, Simon Savage, the company represents a unique opportunity in bringing University-based research to market.

For the past six years, Ionic Industries has been working in partnership with the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Laboratory (NSEL) at Monash University to commercialise graphene technologies.

It has been pursuing this model focusing on several technology applications, each at distinct stages of commercialisation, including:

• Industrial processing of graphene and graphene-based materials;
• Graphene-based materials for water treatment; and
• Graphene supercapacitors for energy storage.

Each of these applications addresses some of the world’s most significant problems in rapidly growing markets.

Ionic’s next phase of research and commercialisation activities, to be supported by the current capital raising, include:

• An 18 month, $1.2 million program for the final steps toward commercialisation of its water treatment technologies in collaboration with Monash University and Clean TeQ;
• A 12 month program for development of an advanced prototype of its revolutionary graphene planar micro supercapacitor that can be compared against industry benchmarks on a like-for-like basis, followed by an 18 month program for full upscaling and commercialisation of the technology; and
• Upscaling and licencing of industrial processes for production of graphene and graphene-based materials with Laminar Co.

The company plans to generate revenue through licensing, royalties, JV participation and the outright sale of technology.

Mr Savage notes that, Ionic Industries has driven much of its research to date using government funding under various innovation policies.

“However as those technologies approach commercialisation their relationships with various industry partners become increasingly important, along with a more commercially-oriented approach to satisfying capital requirements,” he says.

“Ionic’s recent key partnerships with Clean TeQ (ASX:CLQ) and Korean company, Laminar, are examples of how we are bridging the gap between the university and large corporations, pushing the technologies the last few steps across the threshold into commercial reality. “

“As ‘venture catalysts’ we can work within academic institutions as well as interface larger industrial and corporate interests to package technologies, facilitate collaboration and create investment opportunities to overcome the roadblocks to innovation and technology commercialisation,” he says.

Ionic’s business model provides many advantages:

• The arrangement is flexible because it provides a continuous stream of graphene-based technologies that Ionic has the option to develop and commercialise and which will sustain the company into the future;
• It allows a focus on multiple markets, and many opportunities, with a diversified suite of technology applications leveraging the numerous and diverse properties of graphene;
• It leverages the complementary strengths of academic institutions around research and development and application of technology by industrial partners with their existing markets and customers; and
• The model provides early validation of technologies giving early investors and stakeholders greater assurance of reaching commercialisation objectives.

Investors have the opportunity to invest in a company built on well-developed technology, but before the technology has taken off and the value in the company priced out by the market.

Investors also have the confidence that their investment is directly channelled into the technologies they are interested in rather than support a portfolio of activities or big overhead expenditure of a large corporation.

An offer information statement is available at: https://ionicindustries.com.au/offer-information-statement-disclaimer/ and copies of the document can be obtained by contacting Ionic Industries on +61 3 9692 7222 or at info@ionicindustries.com.au

For further information, contact: Mr Simon Savage simons@ionicindustries.com.au