Carbon Waters has been a committed and responsible start-up from the very beginning. Now, it’s shifting into higher gear by implementing a proactive, well-defined CSR policy. For Alban Chesneau and his team, sustainable development is a key component to managing the new challenges that lie ahead in energy, ecology, and the economy.
Carbon Waters is breaking new ground with the launch of its industrial phase. At the same time, it’s asserting its green ambitions by developing a clearly organized CSR plan. Charlotte Gallois asserts, “The issue of our social, environmental, and corporate responsibility must be raised right now, and it must become the keystone of our industrial model.”
Measuring Environmental Impact
Carbon Waters plans to start by working on Scope 1, to measure its total carbon footprint. Gallois explains, “Then we will look into Scope 2, which focuses on the amount of energy we need to consume to produce graphene and our additives, so that we can assess the company’s total consumption.” In the medium term, Carbon Waters will start on Scope 3, which covers the entire value chain: raw material purchases, transportation, supply chain, waste management, reuse, etc. Gallois continues, “Our aim is to set up a life cycle analysis [LCA] of our next products, to fine-tune our vision.”
She adds, “This new CSR stance also requires us to raise awareness among our teams, and to deploy best practices. So we’ve just created a usage chart for our consumption of water and electricity, and for transportation, such as travel between home and work and business travel. That way, everyone can have a hand in our CSR policy.”
Respecting Human Rights and Labor Rights
While facing the challenges of sustainable development associated with energy consumption, Carbon Waters also plans to follow the major principles of the United Nations Global Compact. Gallois notes, “We will keep a close eye on our suppliers and their distributers; they must be a model for the respect of human rights and labor rights.”
Carbon Waters is also intent on combatting all forms of discrimination and promoting equality of the sexes in its hiring and work practices. Out of concern for the well-being of its associates, the start-up also plans to take meaningful actions to enhance Quality of Life at work. “On another topic, educating young people about careers in chemistry has special meaning for us; we are very serious about taking part in numerous student forums and exchanges.”
In It for the Long Haul
The company will appoint key associates to implement this ambitious road map. Their job will be to define the overall goals and their perimeters. “It’s a project for the long haul, so it’s critical to accurately target the actions to generate and the indicators to consider,” Gallois tells us. “We have already begun identifying various local and national partners to accompany us on this journey. Our goal is clear: become certified or recognized in the medium term through evidence and quantifiable actions to demonstrate our commitment to CSR.”
Nicolas Castet was hired as operations manager of Carbon Waters last May, following a long international career. From Freiburg to Singapore, this globe-trotting manager has always been guided by a strong entrepreneurial spirit. As with the mountain climbing he does in his spare time, he is summitting the heights and the challenges to see life from on high.
You call yourself a “pure product of Solvay.” Could you tell us about your professional journey?
Nicolas Castet: After studying economics and finance at Bordeaux, I had my first internship at Rhône Poulenc. Then I joined Rhodia, the company’s chemistry division, as a Corporate Finances manager. Along the way, I became the head of the Credit Management department. It was a real challenge, because at the time, everything had to be created globally: organization, team, procedures, and more.
In 2008, you switch gears for the first time, and you decide to go abroad.
NC: In fact, I had been at the helm of financial management at Rhodia’s Business Unit in Freiburg (Germany) for nearly eight years. In 2011, Rhodia was finally taken under Solvay’s wing and, after 15 years of experience in various financial positions, I felt ready to take on a new adventure. Actually, I wanted to get a taste for the field!
So Solvay offers you a job as sales manager in Singapore.
NC: Right. The goal was to grow sales in Asia Pacific, by creating a local outpost. I was in charge of a wide area, from Pakistan to Japan, excluding China. My team and I were always on the move, full of project ideas to diversify activity. It was a thrilling time, with such an entrepreneurial feel, even though I had the full weight of the company behind me.
What do you remember about those years?
NC: Singapore is a multicultural city, where Malaysians, Chinese, and Indians live together in peace in a patchwork of cultures and languages. I learned a lot, traveled a lot, too: India, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and also to the Australian outback. It was an unforgettable road trip!
After spending over 12 years abroad, I felt it was time for me to go back to France. Especially since my two children had never lived in France! So in late 2020, I came back to my roots, in the middle of the pandemic, looking for a new opportunity.
Still in chemistry?
NC: Yes, it’s a lively, innovative, dynamic industry, with the promise of opportunities and growth in the green transformation. I also wanted to be part of a company that had a strong entrepreneurial spirit, and it was eventually through France Chimie Nouvelle Aquitaine that I heard about Carbon Waters. It was good timing, because right then Alban Chesneau was looking to build out his management team to prepare the road map for future marketing of his products.
What are your specific tasks at Carbon Waters?
NC: I have been the operations manager since May 2022. I have many roles: First, prepare the commercial and marketing strategy for our new applications, then secure the supply chain. Next, organize and supervise financial management. Finally, participate in strategy sessions and in guiding the company’s overall direction. Our goal is to make Carbon Waters an industrial company. It’s quite a challenge, and it entails many types of risks: industrial, financial, and commercial. You know, I love mountain climbing, and I’ve already climbed Mont Blanc. Today Carbon Waters is a “lead climber.” We still have peaks to reach, narrow passages to cross, sometimes cautiously, sometimes boldly, but believe me, at the top of the mountain, the view is always spectacular!
Global leaders in the plastics and rubber industry gathered at the K Show in Düsseldorf, Germany, last October 19-26. Carbon Waters was at the event October 19-21, when it unveiled the various fields of application for its graphene.
With over 3000 exhibitors expected in 2022, the K Show is the place to be for innovators in the plastics and rubber industry. Carbon Waters was at the event in a shared booth in Hall 5 (D04-15) devoted to materials. It taok advantage of this international show to meet the major players in the sector and show them the many industrial applications of its graphene. Charlotte Gallois, business developer, tells us, “It’s been proven that adding graphene improves the mechanical behavior of polymers in extreme temperatures, while it optimizes their thermal and electrical conductivity.” Gallois adds, “Graphene also offers beneficial barrier properties for storing gas and hydrogen. Lastly, we are currently working on anti-UV properties, with promising projects under development.”
Supporting Innovation
Carbon Waters is supporting innovation by helping plastics industrialists to develop innovative, lasting products, from proof of concept to industrialization. The advantage of Carbon Waters graphene additives is that they make no significant changes to the viscosity and chemistry of materials. Rather, they adapt to manufacturing processes while providing new properties like the ones mentioned above.
At age 30, Joyakim Davis has just joined the Purchasing and Logistics Department at Carbon Waters. Born in Mauritius and French at heart, this graduate student currently in a coop program at ISLI (Institut Supérieur de la Logistique Industrielle, or Institute for Supply Chain Excellence), is championing a bullet-proof supply chain and bio-based sourcing. His profile below.
You are originally from Mauritius. What made you decide on France for your career?
Joyakim Davis: I spent my whole childhood in Grand Gaube, a little town with beaches on one side and sugar cane on the other, not far from Port Louis. With my bac diploma in my pocket, I bought a one-way ticket to France, because I wanted to have a career in industry. In 2012, I ended up in Saint Quentin, in Picardy, without knowing a soul. Luckily, I had rented a little place and my landlord took me under his wing. I started my career path in chemical engineering and processes, then I attended an engineering school in Pau, before earning a master’s degree in environmental studies in 2017.
In 2018, you were in a coop program at Daher Aerospace in Tarbes, right?
JD: That coop really put me in pole position and allowed me to develop a more businesslike, technological approach to the job. Afterward, I became a contract worker with the Airbus Atlantic service supply chain. It was an 18-month experience that taught me a great deal about career skills and responsibilities. But in this kind of organization, the administrative and decision-making layers slow down innovation and creativity.
So then you discovered Carbon Waters.
JD: Yes, and I immediately felt at home with the company culture. From the very first interview, we talked with Alban about the need to organize and secure the supply chain to avoid any raw materials shortages. The idea of building this department together was a real challenge. And the advantage compared to a big company? How quickly decisions are made! At Carbon Waters, communication is fluid, and all ideas are welcome. There is a culture of creativity and spontaneity. It keeps you on your toes.
What are your various job areas?
JD: I work in both purchasing and logistics. Right now, we are considering deploying ERP software that would manage data flows and tracking of raw materials and our finished products. We hope to be able to source our supplies locally and focus on bio-based raw materials produced in France or in Europe.
We prefer to develop lasting relationships with French and European suppliers and set up co-development projects with them. The ERP project is the keystone for controlling the flow of materials entering and exiting the company, increasing volumes, and deploying a bullet-proof, high-performance supply chain.
Any other projects in the works?
JD: The Carbon Waters team is also thinking about recycling its waste products. When we make graphene, there are always undeveloped, less useful co-products left over. Now these co-products can easily be used in the field of sports or construction to enhance the mechanical properties of materials. We plan on deploying a supply chain devoted to recycling these co-products.
And in your personal life?
JD: I’m a new dad, and I hope I can find the right balance between my private life and my professional life. Between my coop at Carbon Waters, my classes at ISLI, and my family life, I’m juggling schedules. Fortunately, this winter on a well-deserved break, I’m taking my whole little tribe on vacation to Mauritius.
Could graphene be an answer to the problems of sustainable development and resource preservation? That, in fact, is the game plan for Carbon Waters, which is applying its environmentally responsible policies to the production, logistics, and development of raw materials. A discussion with Alban Chesneau, CEO of Carbon Waters, follows.
Carbon Waters CEO Alban Chesneau began our talk by explaining that “the chemistry sector has to embrace new practices that are more respectful of the environment in its activities, its processes, and its products.” He added, “From the very beginning, we have paid special attention to the impact of our manufacturing processes, transportation, and the uses for our waste products.” The goal is to reduce the carbon footprint and preserve resources. And that starts with its imports of raw materials, mostly graphite, directly from the United States. “The pandemic showed us how important it was to have a more local, more flexible supply chain, so we don’t have any interruptions or delays,” Chesneau continued. “That’s why, today, we are looking into raw materials from Europe, mainly Germany and France.”
Synthetic Graphite—and Methane!
With that same goal in mind, Carbon Waters is considering using custom-made synthetic graphite, to preserve natural resources. In addition to synthetic graphite, the start-up is interested in new sources of carbon materials, in particular, methane-based products. Chesneau informed us, “By using pyrolysis, we can convert the gas into a solid carbon. But it is still too early to tell if this type of carbon truly has potential in terms of sustainable development, because of the high temperatures required to transform the gas into carbon material.” That is the challenge for the future: use more technology, but less energy.
Organic Solvents
The start-up is also introducing new manufacturing practices, such as replacing toxic solvents, mainly THF, with bio-based organic solvents. “In 2020, we ran our first assessment of the carbon impact of our industrial process to identify our successes and our areas for improvement,” stated Chesneau. “Some areas we considered were using water resources, solvent recycling, and developing and exploiting by-products.”
One thing is certain: Carbon Waters graphene checks all the boxes for progress toward a more sustainable production process and the adoption of renewable methods to reduce the environmental impact of coatings, plastics, and composites.
Carbon Waters has had a very busy start to the year, participating in numerous trade shows. As a bonus, the targeted business meetings have provided the company with excellent business and networking opportunities.
Paris Space Week, Techinnov, Eurocoat, Jec…2022 started off with a bang for Carbon Waters, who made a strong impression at the many shows it attended. The start-up stood out at the Eurocoat Expo, for example, held last March 29-31 in Paris. This high-level gathering drew players in the paints, glues, and adhesives field to see the latest trends and innovations, including graphene. Charlotte Gallois, account manager, tells us, “In addition to the targeted meetings and business meetups, we had the opportunity to present graphene’s properties as an additive in protective coatings. Industrialists showed interest in our Graph’Up solutions by asking many questions about its anticorrosion capabilities, but they were also interested in thermal and electrical conductivity applications.”
Another major show for Carbon Waters was Paris Space Week, held last March 14 and 15. Over the course of two days, this B2B event hosted the main actors in the space and aerospace industries. Says Gallois, “We took part in about a dozen prequalified B2B meetings and used the occasion to make new connections, strengthen our client ties, and reaffirm the needs in the sector.” The industrialists in attendance were eager to hear about an economical alternative to thermal glues as well as extending the lifespan of composites, and their thermal resistance.
These topics were also explored at Techinnov, which had 2000 participants, including 600 start-ups, who presented their solutions to stakeholders in the luxury, battery, naval, and railroad sectors. “These types of meetings are always fruitful, because they allow us to meet both major accounts and small- and intermediate-sized companies, to develop our network,” adds Gallois.
The company also took advantage of its growing success to attend the FIP at IMD (France Innovation Plasturgie – Innovative Materials Days), for the first time. It had a dedicated booth where it introduced graphene’s properties to the industrialists in attendance.
The last must-see show was Jec World, on May 3-5 in Villepinte. Gallois tells us, “This global show devoted to composite materials drew more than 40,000 visitors from 115 countries. This is our third appearance at this event, and we had the opportunity to be one of the 19 companies represented at the Nouvelle-Aquitaine booth.” The company’s excellent visibility translated into many qualified meetings and a growing demand for information on epoxy-graphene solutions for the aeronautic, automotive, construction, and energy fields.
Carbon Waters is set to attend more professional events during the course of the year. These include K2022, October 19-26 in Düsseldorf, a global meeting of plastics and rubber industry leaders. Carbon Waters will have a chance to meet with international players at its booth shared with Polymeris at the French Pavilion. Gallois concludes, “We will be on site through October 21 to get a feel for the market and present graphene’s benefits for the various rubber/plastics industries.”
Lucie Chupin had embarked on a career in higher education when she made a profound change in direction and joined Carbon Waters in April 2021. Once she’d made the change, the young R&D application engineer never looked back. A fan of embroidery and submarine diving, as well as graphene, here Chupin gives us her start-up vision of life.
Before you began work at Carbon Waters, you seemed headed for a career in teaching.
Lucie Chupin: Exactly. After studying science, I became a polymer chemistry researcher and I received my PhD in 2014, in development of a glue for wood panels. I naturally continued in academia as a post-doctoral student, then as a university lecturer and researcher into bio-based composites at Sophia Antipolis. I’ve always enjoyed teaching; I like to transmit, exchange, and share my knowledge. After a brief stint as a teacher in Dijon, I joined the Université du Havre, where I taught the chemical formulation of polymers in cosmetics fields.
Then things took a 180-degree turn in 2019…
LC: In fact, I decided to take a huge leap into the unknown: I left academia to join the world of industry. My destination? The United Kingdom, at Solvay, to work on resin formulations for automotive composites. Brexit and the pandemic rained on my parade. I underwent a complete reassessment of my life during this complex and uncertain time. I wanted to stay in industry, but I also wanted to go back to France.
What made you choose Carbon Waters?
LC: Carbon Waters is a perfect match for my core job interests, since it works mainly on glues and polymers. I started out in April 2021 as an R&D application engineer. My job was to find applications in the field of polymers and thermosetting materials, often subjected to high temperatures, particularly in the automobile and aerospace industries. It takes a specific type of expertise to add graphene in its dispersed form. My role is to make sure it is stable in the mold, while improving mechanical properties, thermal and electrical conductivity, and the barrier or anticorrosion properties of a material…it’s a great deal of lab work, because you have to test various formulations. We also do a lot of observing and research into materials.
What do you like about your work?
LC: I like the team work and the overall energy. When you work at a startup, you start from nothing, with a powerful urge to succeed. That opens up a range of possibilities! Being in charge of my own research projects is also very challenging. It’s a nice balance between research and the world of industry.
Speaking of balance, where do you find balance in your own personal life?
LC: I really like embroidery and sewing; they call for attention to detail and concentration—two qualities required for research work! I also adore diving. In that silent world, I let go and my mind is a blank. It’s a funny feeling, filled with freedom, beauty, and communing with the elements. I remember some extraordinary dives in Australia, along the Barrier Reef, meeting up with sea turtles, manta rays, and sharks. It was just magical!
In addition to its anticorrosion properties and its thermal conductivity, graphene is highly fracture-resistant. Carbon Waters is using this knowledge to develop a liquid-graphene-based additive to enhance the mechanical properties of several materials and composites. The result will offer a major advantage for cutting-edge industries like aeronautics and space.
Two hundred times more resistant than steel, a million times thinner than a single hair, harder than diamond, and more conductive than copper, graphene never ceases to amaze us with its incredible properties. This supernanomaterial made of a single layer of carbon atoms possesses astonishing anticorrosion properties and enormous mechanical resistance. Why? Very simply, it’s because the atoms within this thin sheet of carbon form a minuscule layer measuring about 0.335 nm. That’s what gives it remarkable mechanical resistance. One square millimeter of graphene can withstand up to two tons of pressure. For industrialists who need ever stronger and more powerful materials, graphene is a dream come true.
Increasing Mechanical Resistance of Composites
Alban Chesneau, CEO of Carbon Waters, explains that “When polymers are subjected to high pressure or intense physical constraint, even the top performing ones have an undesirable tendency to twist, lose their shape, or even break. So their useful life is limited.” That’s why the startup began looking into the idea of increasing the mechanical resistance of materials using a graphene-based additive. “We are currently the only ones producing predispersed graphene that is ready to use as a high-performance additive. We have now proven that even at very low concentrations (0.02%), the mechanical resistance of polymers increases by several dozen percentage points.”
Composites used in sports, wind power, space, aeronautics, and future hydrogen storage systems could soon become tougher, if they were “doped” with graphene. “One field of application we are actively working in is aeronautics,” Chesneau continues. “Our graphene additive could strengthen some composite parts, thereby lightening the plane’s structure.” As a bonus, it would cut way back on fuel consumption and translate to a very bright future for electric planes.
Bio-based Thermoplastics
At the moment, the project has been launched, prototypes are being tested, and Carbon Waters has already created a first masterbatch and manufactured some graphene-polymer parts to use in composites.
Chesneau points out, “Our first line will get the full go-ahead within a year. We’re also going to be actively involved in mechanical reinforcement of bio-based materials, like thermoplastics, as well as cellulose and lignin, with an eye to sustainable development and resource preservation. The long-term challenge is to speed up the adoption of these materials that rarely have the same performance as their oil-based equivalents.”
Now that it has explored the mechanical and anticorrosion properties of graphene, Carbon Waters is determined to develop a broad-spectrum antifouling additive to limit the spread of viruses and bacteria.
Turning graphene into an antifouling additive
Flashback to March 2020—the global pandemic strikes the planet, forcing many countries into lockdown. With the health crisis as a backdrop, numerous companies and organizations are exploring new avenues for stemming the epidemic and halting the spread of the virus. One solution being researched is graphene.
This nanomaterial is proving to be antifouling. Carbon Waters answered a call for expressions of interest from the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of France in May 2020.
Their goal was to work on various formulations to substantially reduce viral or bacterial contamination. “After a first, relatively complex development phase, our results are quite promising. Showing a clear decrease in the spread of bacteria on treated films,” notes Alban Chesneau, CEO of Carbon Waters. “Now the challenge is to formulate an additive for acrylic paints, used mainly in decorative painting and building and construction,” he adds.
The goal of the formulation is to meet two challenges:
- Limit the spread of viruses for health reasons.
- Enhance the preservation qualities and shelf life of paints.
Graphene-Based Antifouling Paints
“We already have antifouling agents in paints, but their formulations remain toxic and these products are on a watch list. So using our graphene dispersions will greatly reduce the effects on humans and on nature. That way we can manufacture paints that are more respectful of human health,” underscores Alban Chesneau.
The company is six to twelve months away from being able to test the paints under real-life conditions. “Initially, we plan to position ourselves in the building, light industry, and public transport sectors, where large numbers of people are in contact with each other. Currently, we are working with industrialists and people involved in chemistry. We are also leveraging the expertise of regional firms specialized in microbiology,” he explains.
As for scheduling, by 2022 they will start qualification of the high-performance additive for preserving paint with several industrialists who have already shown interest.
After some promising initial testing, the first graphene-based thermal glue is scheduled to appear in 2022. We revisit this achievement that “sticks to” its market expectations.
At first, it looks like any other glue. Or almost. The graphene-enhanced thermal glue that Carbon Waters is developing will offer numerous properties, while preserving every bit of its adhesive performance. Its improved impermeability to water will counter the common problem of oxidization in microelectronic components. Another benefit is its strong thermal conductivity, which optimizes heat dissipation and limits hot spots.
Electronics Overheating
Carbon Waters CEO Alban Chesneau explains, “Today, our smartphones are true technological marvels, packed with components that are increasingly miniaturized and powerful. Having these densely packed electronics in a small space causes problems with batteries overheating and fire hazards.” With its new glue, Carbon Waters is putting the industry to the challenge by offering an innovative solution for the microelectronic, aeronautic, space, and defense sectors.
Thermal Glue On The Way
The thermal glue is currently under development. Initial testing has shown some convincing results, with a +25% increase in thermal diffusion and +12% increase in impermeability. These are real advantages for any electronic system subjected to humid or tropical environments.
A prototype is being manufactured, and the product should be on the market by 2022.