Westlake Innovations Inc., a subsidiary of Houston-based Westlake Corp. and sister operation of concrete roof tile and stone veneer producer Westlake Royal Building Products, has announced a stake in Universal Matter Inc., Burlington, Ontario, processor of graphene agents for concrete and other industrial or consumer end uses. Westlake’s action builds upon a corporate commitment to helping develop a more sustainable future through continuous improvement of its own manufacturing practices as well as strategic investments in innovative technologies and startup firms.
Universal Matter has pioneered and patented Flash Joule Heating (FJH) technology that allows for cost-effective, industrial-scale upcycling of carbon waste streams into high-quality graphene and graphitized carbon. First developed at Rice University, Universal Matter’s FJH technology creates graphene that is tunable across 1D, 2D, and 3D morphologies, granting superior properties that are critical for large industrial applications. Universal Matter has also developed the means to disperse the graphene in a variety of liquid or solid mediums, making it easier for customers to incorporate graphene into their downstream industrial products and achieve performance improvements for essential materials such as concrete, asphalt, composites, paints, and coatings.
“Graphene is a material with a number of potential performance and sustainability benefits that could apply across Westlake’s Performance & Essential Materials and Housing & Infrastructure Products business lines,” says Westlake Innovations Senior Vice President John Chao. “We look forward to working with Universal Matter and its management team as it moves forward on development and commercialization of its flexible technology.”