The advanced materials engineering group and graphene specialist says it has raised £550,000 by placing 846,153,845 new ordinary shares in the capital of the company at a price of 0.065 pence per share. Net proceeds will go into buying concrete and mortar testing equipment to support the ongoing CementeneTM admixture developments for BS934 accreditation.

In addition to general corporate and working capital purposes, the funding will also be destined for testing new mortars and products developed, using the Company's 3D construction printing capability.

In a statement to investors, the company said: "Alongside the development of CementeneTM, Versarien continues to pursue a variety of commercial opportunities in its target markets of construction and leisure, and in other areas."

The statement also updated the status on the disposal of the two mature businesses, which remains an ongoing process: "Talks are at an advanced stage with one party regarding the sale of the AAC Cyroma plastics business, although there can be no certainty that this will lead to a successful sale," it said.

Last week, Versarien also announced that it has converted an outstanding convertible loan of €1.25m, plus accrued interest of €207k, into shares in its subsidiary, Madrid-based Gnanomat SL. Back in the autumn of 2018, Versarien bought the Spanish tech firm with an outlay of £2.6m which gave the Forest of Dean company a 62% controlling share – but that stake now rises to 90%.

Gnanomat makes storage devices which, Versarien said at the time,"offer high power density, capable of almost instant recharging and very long lifetimes for use in electrical vehicles and portable electronics products".

Dr Stephen Hodge, Chief Executive Officer of Versarien, said: "We are pleased that we have been able to increase our shareholding in Gnanomat which also allows the company access to further grant funding opportunities following the loan conversion."

Versarien views Gnanomat as a critical part of its future growth and innovation strategy, he said.

He added: "Over the past 12 months Gnanomat has received increased grant funding and undertaken further commercial R&D projects. These projects have already begun to yield trademarks and intellectual property, which are integral to Versarien's business model."

Gnanomat is now applying for local grant funding from the Madrid region, to finance a project relating to next-generation energy storage devices, based on Gnanomat's advanced materials. This proposal, says Versarien, was awarded the Seal of Excellence under the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator program in 2020. Previously, Gnanomat was unable to access this funding due to debt restriction rules.