IT might not look like much but Forest entrepreneur Neil Ricketts could be holding a new industrial revolution in his hands.

His fast-growing technology company, Versarian, plans to produce the "wonder material" graphene at the Vantage Point business village in Mitcheldean.

Graphene is made up of a single layer of carbon atoms – about a million times finer than a human hair – making it the thinnest material known, yet it is also one of the strongest.

Versarien is spending £440,000 to acquire 85 per cent of 2D-Tech, a company set up by the University of Manchester which specialises in the early development of graphene products.

The development will bring more highly-skilled manufacturing jobs to the Forest.

Cinderford-based Versarian has also announced it has raised £5.5 million having placed 26,153,847 new shares at 26p each – an issue that was over-subscribed.

Mr Ricketts said: "The acquisition of 2-D Tech offers Versarien a valuable opportunity to expand both in product range of revolutionary and innovative new materials, but also expand as a company taking on more highly skilled local people.

"We will be building on our experience in manufacturing for the technology sector, enabling us to apply our experience and expertise to commercialising the considerable market opportunities for graphene in the UK.

"Graphene conducts electricity as efficiently as copper and outperforms all other materials as a conductor of heat.  It has almost endless applications and is predicted to revolutionise the 21st century.

"Versarien is already manufacturing over 37 tonnes per year of complex powder at its Total Carbide plant and combining this know-how with 2-DTech's expertise, research facilities, and rights to intellectual property makes the early commercialisation of graphene-related products far more likely in the near term on an industrial scale."

The plant at Mitcheldean will be the largest producing graphene in the UK.

The company will now focus on two projects with the aim of being able to sell products within 12 months. Will Battrick, Versarien's chief technical officer, said: "It's a race to the starting line."

Versarien also intends to enter into a further agreement with the University of Manchester to make £300,000 available to fund two graphene-related projects over the next 18 months.

Among the early visitors to the Mitcheldean plant were Iain Grey, the chief executive of the Technology Strategy Board and Yuyuan Zhao, of the University of Liverpool, who is also working with Versarien on advanced materials.

Mr Grey said: "We work to stimulate and support British innovation – this is brilliant.

"We are looking for the SMEs (small and medium enterprises) that will become the large companies."