Haydale Graphene Industries plc (LON:HAYD), the global advanced materials group, has today announced the filing of a patent application in the UK for its PATit anti-counterfeiting technology utilising proprietary software codes and a speciality graphene-based transparent conductive ink. Haydale is specifically targeting the anti-counterfeiting packaging market which is expected to double over the next four years to around US$207 billion by 2021*. The filing of this application is an important step in allowing the Company to begin discussions on commercial applications of the technology.
The combination of Haydale’s ability to formulate bespoke graphene-based transparent conductive inks and its proprietary software developed inhouse allows an anti-counterfeiting device to “read” Haydale’s unique ink when printed onto a product label, or any material, including metals, in order to prove the authenticity (or otherwise) of the product. Crucially, the transparent nature of the conductive ink is, Haydale believes, an important USP in exploiting this market as it will not alter products’ package design. The verification of a product is carried out using the capacitive touchscreen capability of a smart phone or tablet which has downloaded a special API code that enables the reader to measure the encoded graphene based ink.
Commenting on the patent, Ray Gibbs, CEO of Haydale Graphene Industries plc, said: “This filing allows us to start commercial discussions with potential customers for our speciality graphene-based inks developed by our Thailand operation. The Asia-Pacific region is forecast to be the fastest growing region for anti-counterfeiting packaging and we are ideally placed to maximise on this exciting and growing market opportunity.
We are exploring areas of interest from governments and producers seeking to protect brands and reduce the growing incidence of counterfeit goods. The immediate targets for licensing of our technology will be in markets such as tobacco, pharmaceuticals, and food and beverage.”
