Perpetuus Advanced Materials, a UK company involved in graphene production, has signed a preliminary agreement with Japan’s Graphene Platform Corporation to export its reactor technology to produce commercial quantities of the “wonder” material for a range of industrial uses.

The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding that will lead to a royalty and licensing agreement, paving the way for the first export sale of the Perpetuus DBD Plasma Reactor.

This will enable the Japanese company to make so-called functionalised graphene for its global customer base.

The agreement is the latest evidence of the UK’s growing role in the development of graphene, which is credited with properties of strength, flexibility and electrical conductivity that could shape the manufacturing of everything from computer chips to condoms to super-light aircraft.

Ten years after the discovery of graphene by scientists at the UK’s Manchester University, its adoption as a commercial material has been held back by the cost and difficulty of large-scale production.

The Perpetuus reactor technology is able to manufacture about 100 tonnes a year. John Buckland, chief executive, said he had chosen GPC because it “understands that graphenes can be more effectively introduced into existing products if they are pre-designed to their customers’ production specifications”.

Perpetuus, which has a production facility at Ammanford in South Wales, already has industrial collaborations exploring the uses of graphene.

Last year it entered into a development agreement with Cientifica, an Aim-listed company specialising in commercialising emerging technologies. Under the deal, Perpetuus will provide technical support for Cientifica’s portfolio, helping it bring products to market quicker.

Perpetuus is also looking for uses in electric vehicle technology, exploring graphene-enabled electrodes in batteries, and has an agreement with Oxis Energy, an Oxfordshire-based company that has a patent for lithium sulphur batteries.