Saudi Oil Giant Leads Investment Round For Graphene Electrodes Firm

Aramco Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Saudi Arabian oil and natural gas giant Aramco, has invested in GraphEnergyTech, a company that produces graphene for solar cells as a replacement for silver electrodes.  

Part of the UK-based Frontier IP Group, GraphEnergyTech has developed and patented a process that integrates graphene electrodes into solar cells, replacing silver and other precious metals. Its use retains and improves power conversion efficiency and reliability, according to the company.  

For its pre-seed investment round led by Aramco, GraphEnergyTech has raised £1 million ($1.27 million) in equity. Proceeds will help it develop and scale up its advanced high-conductivity graphene electrodes. The company’s technology can also be applied to batteries, supercapacitors, LED lighting and displays.   

Frontier IP co-founded the company along with Professor Michael Grätzel of the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), who is known as the inventor of the dye-sensitized solar cell, and the Founder and Director of the University of Cambridge Graphene Centre Professor Andrea Ferrari. 

Citing research from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), GraphEnergyTech said that the global reserves of silver could diminish by 2050 to meet the rising demand for solar power. Even in 2023, the global silver demand exceeded available supply as demand from the solar PV industry grew by 64% annually and is likely to further grow by 20% in 2024 (see Solar PV Industry’s Silver Demand Exceeding Expectations).  

“It (silver) is expensive and mining can cause devastating environmental harm. GraphEnergyTech’s electrodes also cost significantly less to manufacture than silver electrodes,” according to the team.  

“We are very happy with the results of the fundraising and the investment from Aramco Ventures. The money will allow us to take development of our advanced graphene electrodes to the next level. They have the potential to play a part in the development of the next generation of solar cells,” said GraphEnergyTech CEO Dr. Thomas Baumeler.  

Aramco’s investment in GraphEnergyTech follows the recent solar PV manufacturing investments in Saudi Arabia by Chinese enterprises for solar ingot, wafer, cell and modules (see 20 GW Solar Ingot, Wafer Manufacturing Fab In Saudi Arabia).