Directa Plus and Skanska launch trial of graphene-enhanced asphalt

Directa Plus announced the start of a trial of re-surfacing a section of a UK road in Curbridge, Oxfordshire with materials containing its G+ graphene substance. The trial will be in collaboration with Skanska, the leading Sweden-based project development and construction group. Directa Plus partnered with Iterchimica, an Italy-based leader in products that enhance asphalt performance, to carry out the trial.

For the trial, the companies will refurbish the two upper layers of a 750m-long section of road, comparing asphalt concrete containing the graphene super modifier. New technologies such as the super modifier had the potential to vastly improve the quality of road surfaces throughout Europe and the wider world, according to Directa Plus.

"The trial, comparing asphalt concrete with the super modifier to a traditional asphalt surfacing, will assess; service life; resistance to the passage of vehicles; resistance to deformation; and permanent plastic deformation", Directa stated. "This trial is an important step for Directa Plus and Iterchemica, in partnership, in proving the business and use case for the next generation of graphene enhanced road surfaces".