Construction materials

Researchers from the University of Surrey have developed a new thermo-active road solution that could help prevent potholes caused by freezing and thawing in the winter. A new project that will test this new approach has been awarded a £800,000 research fellowship from the Royal Academy of Engineering. The outcomes could improve how major roads across the United Kingdom are maintained and upgraded, even as climate change increases the challenge of keeping them fit for purpose.  

As part of this five-year research project, the Surrey team will work with advanced materials engineering company Versarien to develop a new graphene-enhanced microcapsule to dig into the soil beneath the surface when roads are resurfaced to improve heat conduction and storage.

Bio Graphene Solutions (BGS) has announced a strategic partnership with Brook Restoration, one of the largest structural restoration companies in Canada.

The strategic partnership will enable Brook to leverage BGS’s graphene-enhanced liquid admixture for concrete products in building and public infrastructure projects in Ontario. Brook has also made a strategic investment in BGS’s current financing - further solidifying Brook’s commitment to innovation and sustainability within the construction space.

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 August 2023, includes several new updates, trials, and project involved in this exciting and promising market.

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.

The Oxfordshire County Council's highways team and its contractor, Milestone Infrastructure, are testing graphene-enhanced Gipave road surface in a village near Chipping Norton. On a 725-meter stretch of North Street in Middle Barton.

This trial is the third in Oxfordshire, and sees an adjacent length of road resurfaced using conventional asphalt so that the two surfaces can be compared.

In April, First Graphene (FGR) announced plans for major graphene-enhanced cement trials with a consortium that includes Breedon Cement, Morgan Sindall and the University of Manchester. Now, FGR confirmed the beginning of these trials using the company’s graphene in cement and concrete at the Breedon Group’s Hope Cement Works at Derbyshire in the United Kingdom.

The trials aim to build on smaller-scale trials with an accredited concrete processing laboratory in the UK, which First Graphene said “generated positive results”, and to further showcase the carbon dioxide reduction benefits of graphene additives. According to the company, the trial – with Breedon, Morgan Sindall Construction and the University of Manchester – will use approximately 1.2 tonnes of PureGRAPH 50 and create about 2,000 tonnes of graphene-enhanced cement at the works.

Versarien plans to regroup around its commercial graphene applications (Cementene and Graphene Wear) in order to promote a recovery, while also cutting costs to stabilize the business, as the Company stated while also reporting its interim results.

In the results statement, Diane Savory, Versarien’s chair, said: "The period under review was extremely challenging from a financial perspective, both from a balance sheet point of view and with the decline in graphene revenues reflecting the ending of the DSTL development contract”. Revenues in the six months to end March 2023 were £2.62 million (2022: £3.89 million), with losses of £3.4 million (2022: £2.16 million), while cash at the end of the period £0.76 million with a further £0.53 million raised since.

Versarien has shared that trials of a precast concrete containing its Cementene water-based graphene mixture were shown to maintain its strength with 20% of the cement removed.

The initial results, carried out in tests at the accredited laboratory of Ireland-based Banagher Precast Concrete, “demonstrate the significant potential to reduce CO₂ emissions without impacting the performance of the concrete”, the AIM-listed company said. This is because producing 1kg of ordinary Portland cement emits around 0.8-0.9kg of CO₂ and roughly 500kg of cement is used per cubic metre of Banagher's precast concrete. Producing 1kg of Cementene is estimated to generate a higher level of CO₂ emissions, at 1.44 kg, but Versarien said because only around 5kg of Cementene is used per cubic metre of concrete and allows the removal of 20% of cement in the precast concrete mix, this would equate to a net saving of almost 73kg of CO₂ emissions per cubic metre of concrete poured.

Black Swan Graphene has announced a shipment of product to Nationwide Engineering Research & Development ("NERD") for an upcoming concrete pour in the United Kingdom. This commercial shipment follows the announcement of a partnership between Black Swan, NERD, and Arup Group Limited, aimed at providing an integrated supply chain and a turnkey solution to the concrete and construction industries.

The upcoming concrete pour will use Black Swan's graphene product in a total of 180 tonnes of concrete for the construction of an industrial park near Redruth, Southwest England. The industrial park will offer 14 industrial units ranging from 2,500 and 3,500 sq ft, with the graphene-enhanced concrete being used for the external concrete aprons. This is the second time this developer has used the technology provided by NERD, having previously used it in the construction of an industrial park in Warminster, approximately 170 km west of London, United Kingdom.

Versarien has announced a placing to raise £531,624 (before expenses) through a placing on the AIM market. This follows recent difficulties and statements by the Company, that it will require further funding to support its activities as it continues to face a number of challenges. 

The net proceeds of the placing will be used for general operational and working capital purposes and for commercialization activities primarily in the construction and leisure sectors, in line with the Company's new strategic roadmap which is being finalized.

Australia-based First Graphene (FGR) will be kicking off one of the world’s largest graphene-enhanced green cement trials, supported by the UK Government’s £66 million Transforming Foundation Industries (TFI) program. FGR is leading the consortium running the trial, which also involves Breedon Cement, Morgan Sindall and the University of Manchester.

Receiving significant funding from Innovate UK through a £190,034 grant, graphene will be added to the cement production line using a range of additions methods with minimal changes to the existing plant. A key aim of the trial is to find a simple, low-cost method of introducing graphene to
industrial scale cement production processes.