- Changing name to Graphex Group to reflect focus on Graphene Division
- Assessing expansion strategies
- Working with industry on emerging graphene applications
- Eco design division conferring with 8 major cities to architect recharge parks
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 2, 2021 / Earthasia International Holdings Ltd. (the "Company") ("Earthasia") (OTCQX:ETIHY) (HKEX:6128), a leader in graphene products and technologies and a manufacturer of spherical graphite and graphene technology for the renewable energy sector, is pleased to provide a corporate update.
The recent Board approval to change the Company's name from Earthasia International Holdings Ltd. to Graphex Group is the first of a number of strategic actions to accurately reflect the Company's focus on graphene research, manufacturing and development and further capitalize on the opportunities the graphene sector presents.
"Earthasia intends to fully leverage its Graphene Division's high-volume manufacturing capability and product technology, protected by 25 patents, to capitalize on the forcasted growth of EV and stored energy lithium ion batteries, in addition to developing future graphene applications," said Chan Yick Yan Andross, Chief Executive Officer and Director, Earthasia International Holdings Ltd.
The demand for electric vehicles and energy storage are key demand drivers for lithium ion batteries and therefore the Company's material. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, annual passenger electrical vehicle sales are forecast to rise from 1.7 million units in 2020 to 8.5 million units by 2025, a compound annual growth rate (‘CAGR') of 38%. By 2040, Bloomberg estimates that 54 million electrical vehicles will be produced per year, representing almost 60% of global car production (currently 92 million vehicles per annum).
The Company is one of the largest manufacturers of spherical graphite, a key material for production of Lithium Ion battery cells, and believes there are powerful market drivers, which should provide robust demand for the Company's material and graphene technology over the next five years. The material is used to form layers of graphene in the anode of lithium ion battery cells. Lithium ion batteries are used in electric vehicles and energy storage solutions for renewable energy farms. The anode is a key component in the battery; charged energy is stored within the anode in the form Lithium Ions trapped between the layers of graphene.
Each electric vehicle requires approximately 70kg of spherical graphite for its battery, or about 1 kg of spherical graphite per kWh2. As such, the annual demand for the Company's products, from the electric vehicle market alone, should rise from 119,000 tons to 595,000 tons by 2025.
Lithium ion cells are also used to store renewable energy for wind farms and photovoltaic power stations. IHS Market Energy Storage Service forecasts that annual energy installations could increase to 47.8 GWh by 2025, a five-fold increase from 2019.
The Company's graphene division represents the majority of the Company's trailing 12 months revenues of $32 million and generates a positive EBITDA (‘Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization). The graphene sales channel consists of approximately 30 customers, some of which are distributors. The Company believes vertically integrating would be accretive by capturing downstream margins.
The Company currently produces about 10,000 tons per annum of spherical graphite at a manufacturing facility in Heilongjiang Province, strategically located near one of the world's largest high-quality natural graphite mines. That is estimated to be about 5% of China's total spherical graphite output.
"Given the highly favorable demand dynamics for our spherical graphite, we are assessing both output capacity expansion and vertical integration strategies," said Mr. Chan. "With proprietary knowledge in manufacturing spherical graphite, at volume, yield and with consistent high quality, we have the in-house skill set to efficiently implement a capacity expansion. In addition, the close proximity to our raw materials provides a large, stable flake graphite source. Further, our patent portfolio of 25 patents protects our manufacturing techniques and processes."
In addition to lithium ion batteries, the Company is leveraging its graphene technology and research towards emerging applications. The unique physical properties of graphene, including its light weight, high strength, optical transparency, and thermal/electrical conductivity, presents a unique engineering solution. In addition to conducting its own research, the Company is working with institutions and customers to apply graphene for developing product applications and assessing a broad array of products, including structural composite panels, commercial lubricants, biomedical tissue scaffold, flexible mobile displays, membranes and ultra-thin solar panels.
Separately through its eco-design division, the Company is working with eight major Chinese cities to design Recharge Parks. Recharge Parks combine landscaped green spaces, with mobile device and electric vehicle charging points. The parks would be partially powered by onsite renewable energy. The concept is to electrically recharge machines and devices, while mentally recharge the people who use them by providing an architecturally superior park space.
About Earthasia International Holdings Ltd.
Earthasia International Holdings Ltd. is a publicly traded company, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the OTCQX Best Market. Based in the People's Republic of China (PRC), and strategically located near the largest supply source of high quality natural graphite anywhere in the world, the Company is a leading supplier of graphene products. Earthasia owns 25 patents in the PRC, including products, production methods, machinery design, and environmental protection. The Company's spherical graphite is an essential anode material for lithium-ion batteries.
Media Contact:
Gavin Davidson
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This release may contain certain forward-looking statements regarding our prospective performance and strategies within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The Company intends such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are including this statement for purposes of said safe harbor provisions. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe future plans, strategies, and expectations of our company, are generally identified by use of words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "project," "seek," "strive," "try," or future or conditional verbs such as "could," "may," "should," "will," "would," or similar expressions. The Company's ability to predict results or the actual effects of its plans or strategies is inherently uncertain and based, in part, on third party market research which the Company's assumed to be accurate. Accordingly, actual results may differ materially from anticipated results. Some of the factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ from its expectations or beliefs include, without limitation, the risks of its businesses, the assumed significant growth of graphene related products and spherical graphite products. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date on which such statements were made.
SOURCE: Earthasia International Holdings Ltd