Dana Gas, the Middle East’s largest regional private sector natural gas company and British advanced materials company Levidian have commissioned their first LOOP 20 unit at Sharjah Graphene Park in the UAE, beginning commercial graphene production with an annual capacity exceeding one ton, Dana Gas said in a statement.
Graphene is a high-value carbon material known for its strength, light weight, and conductivity, with applications in batteries, tyres, concrete, coatings, and polymer products.
The unit is now operational, with the two companies engaging potential customers across the UAE and the wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region to secure long-term graphene offtake agreements. Several major prospective customers in the UAE are also testing products manufactured using Levidian’s graphene.
The commissioning follows a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the partners at Make it in the Emirates in May to establish Sharjah Graphene Park as a hub for advanced materials manufacturing and commercialization. The unit’s launch comes four months after the agreement, reflecting the pace of project implementation.
The initial phase involved an investment of less than $1 million to establish local production and develop regional demand. The companies are also advancing the project’s next stage, with additional LOOP 60 and LOOP 100 units under construction in the UK.
Once commissioned, the additional units are expected to raise annual graphene production capacity to more than 10 tons before the end of 2026, bringing total capital investment to approximately $2.5 million.
The partners are considering further expansion as demand develops, with investment potentially reaching $50 million as production scales up. However, any additional capital expenditure will depend on securing long-term customer offtake commitments and meeting the companies’ investment return requirements.
Levidian’s LOOP technology uses microwave plasma to split methane into solid carbon in the form of graphene and a hydrogen-rich gas that can be used as fuel or further processed into hydrogen. The process offers a way to produce advanced materials from existing gas supplies while supporting efforts to reduce emissions.
Established in 2005 and listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, Dana Gas is a UAE-based natural gas company with exploration and production operations in Egypt, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and the UAE. Its activities span the natural gas value chain, including exploration, production, processing, and transportation.
