Two stretches of an Oxford, UK road will be resurfaced with GiPave, a graphene-enhanced asphalt material, to test the benefits of the product which can significantly increase the life of a road.

Marsh Lane in Oxford, which carries around 10,000 vehicles a day along a key city route, will be used for the trial. Half of a 700-metre stretch of the road will be laid with GiPave, while the rest will be resurfaced using conventional asphalt, so that the two surfaces can be compared accurately.

A new initiative has been established, to explore the development of various applications for graphene, from graphene-infused asphalt and concrete to water filtration systems.

To this end, researchers at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) will be working with top research institutions and experts from the University of Mississippi (UM), Jackson State University (JSU) and Rice University. The collaboration will explore graphene’s unique abilities in uses ranging from advanced materials-by-design to self-sensing infrastructure.

First Graphene has signed a collaboration agreement with Mayur Resources to develop low-carbon cement products using PureGRAPH-enhanced grinding aids and performance improvers.

The agreement will cover three years of knowledge exchange through research and development work collaboration between the two companies.

First Graphene-led consortium of partners has been awarded a UK Government grant to develop high performance graphene-enhanced cement.

The grant of A$360,206 (around USD$258,500) was awarded by the UK Government’s innovation agency, Innovate UK to the consortium, which includes construction materials group Breedon Cement Ltd, construction and regeneration group Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure Ltd, and the University of Manchester’s Department of Mechanical, Civil and Aerospace Engineering.

New Zealand-based graphene technology provider GtM Action is working with pre-fab concrete manufacturer C&O Concrete Limited to bring graphene-enhanced concrete to market.

GtM Action has distribution rights for graphene materials manufactured by Australia-based First Graphene, which was reportedly found (in studies carried out by First Graphene, industry and a range of global research institutions) to provide up to 59% improvement in compressive strength and 33% improvement in tensile strength of concrete.

First Graphene (FGR) has entered into a collaboration agreement with Fosroc International to develop PureGRAPH, graphene-enhanced cement additives or grinding aids. The companies have entered a five-year collaboration agreement to facilitate the exchange of knowledge through research and development work.

Low doses of PureGRAPH-enhanced cement additives used in the final grinding phase of cement production can allow for up to 20% reduced clinker factor cement output while preserving or increasing cement performance.

Graphene Innovations Inc has signed a new Tier-1 partnership with Manchester University's GEIC center. The company will establish a local company (GIIM) in the UK, with plans to hire 10 employees in the next few months.

The GEIC partnership enables GIIM to equip a private lab in the facility, with access to highly specialised applications labs and equipment, plus the unique academic and engineering expertise of the world-leading graphene and 2D materials community at the University.

Graphene has a great potential in the construction industry, to increase the performance of materials and structures, to reduce costs and to reduce the environmental footprint of one of the world's most polluting industries.

After years of R&D, it seems as if graphene is finally get ready for commercial adoption on the market. Here's a short interview we did with James Baker, the CEO at Graphene@Manchester who's behind much of the progress we've seen recently.

Mason Graphite has announced that graphene resulting from the patented process owned by Black Swan Graphene and produced by Black Swan’s strategic shareholder Thomas Swan was recently used in the concrete mix poured during the construction of a large residential development in the United Kingdom.

Nationwide Engineering Group, a construction-focused service provider with dedicated integrated companies, has used the graphene-enhanced concrete developed by Concretene, a wholly-owned subsidiary, in a residential development in Salisbury, 150 km west of London, England.

As part of a £8.6 million research project, announced in support of the government’s UK Innovation Strategy, University of Cambridge engineers will explore how Digital Twins, smart materials, data science and robotic monitoring can work together to develop a connected physical and digital road infrastructure system.

This project is one of eight Prosperity Partnerships being supported with an investment of almost £60 million by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), businesses and universities.