Construction materials

Versarien has announced it has raised £550,000 before expenses (over USD$700,000) by way of a placing new ordinary shares.

The net proceeds will be used for the purchase of concrete and mortar testing equipment to support the ongoing Cementene^TM admixture developments for BS934 accreditation, and for use in testing new mortars and products developed using the Company's 3D construction printing capability, in addition to general corporate and working capital purposes.

Premier Graphene has announced that it has shipped proprietary graphene suspension test samples by HGI Industrial Technologies, a company with a strategic agreement with Premier Graphene, to one of the largest essential materials companies in the world for use in concrete. This materials company is adding graphene samples to concrete to confirm the improved qualities of this concrete as measured by HGI’s in-house tests. 

Premier Graphene stated that with almost 8,000 employees, with a dominant distribution system in North America including almost 800 operating locations, this worldwide leader in the aggregate and cement business presents an extraordinary opportunity for it and HGI. With over a century of operational expertise and a public market value exceeding $50 billion USD, Premier Graphene’s potential partner leads North America in sustainable construction materials, road contracting, and building products sales.

Rimere, a climate solutions company with proprietary plasma technology, and Holliday Rock, a leading producer of concrete and asphalt in California, have announced a new co-development agreement for Rimere’s graphene to be tested in Holliday Rock’s concrete applications.

The development and testing partnership will see Rimere's graphene tested in Holliday Rock’s concrete for potential incorporation into production. The trial is structured to determine the significance the combination has to enhance concrete’s properties in terms of strength, elasticity, shrinkage, shielding, durability, and penetration.

Directa Plus has announced that its collaboration with Iterchimica to develop and produce Gipave, a Green Asphalt embedded with G+ graphene, has achieved another important milestone - it has been chosen for an extensive resurfacing operation in Rome, ahead of the 2025 Jubilee.

Anas, the Italian public road company, has awarded the contract for a resurfacing operation to cover c.15 kilometers of historical routes, using Gipave technology. Gipave is enriched with Directa Plus' graphene and hard recycled plastics, which increases a roads lifespan by up to 61% compared to current market technologies.

Canada-based AlterBiota has received CAD$4 million (over USD$2,925,000) in seed funding to increase hiring and upgrade its commercial-scale facility to make a concrete additive based on its biographene material.

AlterBiota's CEO, Mark Masotti, is a chemical engineer who researched graphene’s ability to decarbonize concrete while on parental leave in 2019. Fascinated by its application, he explored the idea in his basement lab and applied for a provisional patent, then developed the idea into a company. Having conducted tests on its biographene and establishing a pilot plant, Masotti plans to go further in more than doubling his company's staff and building a scale-up plant.

Premier Graphene, a global advanced materials company with a focus on research, production and marketing of eco-friendly graphene, has announced achievements in the integration of graphene with construction materials.  

According to the Company, recent in-house studies have showcased the high quality of graphene-enhanced hydraulic concrete. The findings reportedly point to an unparalleled improvement in the cement’s performance, leading to products of superior quality concrete. This graphene-infused cement exhibits enhanced resistance and strength, alongside quicker drying times, which collectively contribute to considerable cost savings on large-scale construction projects.

First Graphene has announced a third trial with one of the United Kingdom’s largest cement producers, Breedon Group, which will test an optimized formulation of the Company’s PureGRAPH-CEM® product under full-scale production conditions. This trial builds on the work recently conducted in exclusive collaboration with Breedon at its Hope Plant, which confirmed the Company’s ability to produce graphene enhanced cement at an industrial scale.

The third trial incorporates the technical and practical experiences obtained in the first two trials to further optimize the performance of First Graphene’s graphene nanoplatelets. The trial will primarily focus on testing a new grade of graphene, PureGRAPH-CEM®, under full- scale cement production conditions at Breedon’s Hope Cement Works facility in Derbyshire, United Kingdom.

Directa Plus has announced the installation of GiPave® at the Imola Circuit ahead of the upcoming Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in May 2024, as part of the Formula 1 World Championship, making it the first circuit to feature green, sustainable and high-tech asphalt utilizing graphene and recycled plastics.

GiPave® was developed by Iterchimica and resulted from a multi-year research program conducted in collaboration with G.Eco of the A2A Group, the University of Milano-Bicocca, and Directa Plus. The product uses graphene supplied by Directa Plus alongside hard-to-recycle plastics, such as certain types of toys, fruit crates, and old CD cases that would not normally be recycled. The asphalt containing GiPave® can itself be entirely recycled, further reducing waste and the need for new materials.

Today we have published the latest edition of our Graphene Construction Materials Market market report, a comprehensive guide to the world of graphene-enhanced construction materials. The edition, now updated to April 2024, includes over a dozen updates, new companies, new research results and more.

Reading this report, you'll learn all about:

• The advantages of using graphene in construction materials
• Companies involved in this industry
• Projects and trials underway today
• Research activities

The report package also provides:

• Datasheets and brochures from leading companies
• A look into how graphene can reduce carbon emissions
• A look into Chinese graphene construction materials projects
• Free updates for a year

This Graphene Construction Materials market report provides a great introduction to graphene materials used in the construction industry. It is a must-read guide for anyone interested in understanding the current market, mapping the companies involved and evaluating the future of the construction industry.

First Graphene has announced that continued positive results have been reported in field trials of its graphene enhanced cement.
The graphene enhanced concrete slab, which incorporates the Company’s PureGRAPH, reportedly continues to perform well, reaching over 200 days in operation at a wheel washing facility at a major highway infrastructure project in South East England.

A core sample (L), and samples being removed from the graphene enhanced concrete slab in the UK. Image credit: First Graphene

The slab has maintained its strength and integrity, with a complete absence of defects, damage or deterioration reported by scientists and engineers investigating the project. The concrete slab was prepared using a graphene enhanced CEM II A/L concrete mixture, produced by Breedon during site trials last year.