Graphite India through its wholly owned subsidiary in Netherlands, Graphite International BV has signed a definitive agreement for investment upto USD 18.6 million in cash in General Graphene Corporation (General Graphene). This investment would constitute approximately 46% stake in General Graphene and is aligned to the company's core business segment of Carbon and Graphite.

General Graphene, a US based unlisted company located in Knoxville (Tennessee), has developed a breakthrough proprietary technology which would allow them to produce large area, low cost graphene sheets industrial volumes for commercial applications. The investment will be made in multiple tranches over 2 to 3 years, based on the achievement of agreed milestones in the process of commercial production of graphene sheets.

K K Bangur, Chairman of Graphite India said, ''We are extremely pleased to partner with General Graphene in the development and commercialization of this disruptive and high end technology product. Graphene, with its unique properties of being the strongest, thinnest and lightest material known, is likely to open up new opportunities in high tech applications further driving efficiency and optimising costs. Graphite India's investment in General Graphene is in line with its longstanding strategy of focusing on high end technologies. This initiative is expected to deliver meaningful growth in the long term once commercialization of the product is achieved and will result in enhanced value creation for all the stakeholders.''

Shares of the company gained Rs 24.4, or 2.41%, to trade at Rs 1,036.90. The total volume of shares traded was 24,710 at the BSE (9.52 a.m., Monday).