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As announced in February 2019, FGR had made application to have graphene notified and assessed under The National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) for listing on the Australian Inventory of Chemical Substances (AICS) for its PureGRAPH™ graphene products.
On 28th May 2019, the Company was advised by the Department of Health (NICNAS) that its assessment is complete, and approval will be granted to produce and sell PureGRAPH™ products in Australia from our existing production facility which has a capacity of up to 100 tpa.
This approval places FGR in the unique position of being the only entity with regulatory approval to manufacture and sell graphene powders in Australia.
When combined with the previously granted REACH registration FGR is the only entity in the world with regulatory approval for the sale of up to 10 tonnes per annum of graphene powders in the UK and Europe and to sell out our capacity of graphene powders in Australia.
It is necessary for all producers, or potential producers and importers of graphene to complete the NICNAS application to notify the chemical/graphene. This involved providing items such as chemical characterisation, toxicology and environmental information, all of which required considerable research. An advantage of being a first mover is that once the new chemical is approved, it is kept confidential (not on the public or confidential inventory lists) for the first 5 years – this is called the ‘non-listing period’ and means First Graphene can import or manufacture the new chemical under this registration.
This was a critical approval in the continued growth of our graphene materials business in Australia. In conjunction with FGR’s recent REACH registration it demonstrates our position as the leading ethical supplier of tonnage quantities of high-quality graphene products. My thanks to our staff and university collaborators who worked on the successful application to the Department of Health.
Craig McGuckin, Managing Director, First Graphene
Highlights
- Correspondence received from the Department of Health, National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) advises our submission has been jointly reviewed by NICNAS and the Department of the Environment and Energy.
- The Public Report prepared by NICNAS has been provided to FGR and we have advised our acceptance of the report.
- The Department of the Environment and Energy are required to reply advising they are satisfied with the Public Report and NICNAS will then issue the certificate enabling FGR to commence manufacturing and sale.
- FGR is placed in the unique position of being the only company with regulatory approval to manufacture and sell graphene products in Australia.
- NICNAS approval augments the Company’s existing REACH registration for the UK and Europe.