Black Swan Graphene has announced that its partner, Nationwide Engineering Research and Development ("NERD"), the maker of Concretene, a graphene-enhanced concrete admixture ("Concretene"), has executed a development agreement with Roger Bullivant Limited. Roger Bullivant is part of Soletanche Bachy, a foundations company and part of VINCI, the French construction, infrastructure and energy group of companies with €60 billion in annual revenue. The agreement aims to begin commercial deliveries in Q4 of 2024.
Support for the project from Roger Bullivant includes a proposal for establishment of a Concretene pilot manufacturing plant at its headquarters in the United Kingdom. This pilot manufacturing plant should enable NERD to prove the viability of its manufacturing proposition towards much wider scale-up and roll-out to the United Kingdom and international concrete industry.
Black Swan estimates that the initial pilot production level would already necessitate approximately half of its graphene production capacity from its facility in Consett, United Kingdom, and would rapidly grow to much higher levels if the commercial roll-out evolves successfully.
David Clement, Roger Bullivant Managing Director, commented: "Our precast foundation systems, manufactured using low-carbon concrete are an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional methods. As part of Soletanche Bachy and VINCI, we have an ambitious target to reduce our concrete and cement-related CO2 emissions by 40% by 2030. This exciting R&D initiative in partnership with Concretene is the next step in our carbon reduction journey and is a critical element of our sustainability strategy."
Mike Harrison, Chief Operating Officer of NERD, commented: "This is another significant step on our journey to commercialization of our product and we are delighted to be working with the team at Roger Bullivant."
Simon Marcotte, President and Chief Executive Officer of Black Swan, commented: "Due to the size of this promising market, utilizing graphene in concrete has long been regarded as the holy grail of graphene applications. However, very few have been successful at mastering this intricate process. We are extremely excited to have NERD as a partner which has, time and time again, demonstrated the functionality, effectiveness and desirability of its concrete admixture."
Funding for the pre-cast project, worth £1.21m and starting immediately, is provided by Innovate UK under its SMART grant, which supports SMEs and industrial partners in developing disruptive innovations with potential for rapid economic return to the United Kingdom.