Construction materials - Page 2

Over a year ago, it was reported that First Graphene was working with a subsidiary of Mexican multi-national building materials company CEMEX, to trial graphene in railway sleepers cast using recycled aggregates. Now, it was announced that Cemex was granted funding from Innovate UK’s decarbonizing concrete fund for a research project into the use of graphene in concrete. The use of graphene within a concrete mix has the potential to significantly reduce CO₂ emissions by using less material whilst still achieving the same structural performance.

The grant was awarded as part of a consortium which Cemex will lead, working in partnership with Galliford Try, Sika, Northumbria Water and the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) at the University of Manchester, and totals around £400k.

Gerdau Graphene has launched “NanoCONS,” a new line of graphene admixture solutions designed for the construction industry, meant to enable concrete producers to leverage the physical properties of graphene to improve the mechanical performance of their concrete products. 

The integration of NanoCONS into cementitious materials may also reduce carbon emissions associated with concrete production: according to recent research on graphene-enhanced concrete, reducing cement content can lower concrete manufacturing-related emissions by up to 20%. NanoCONS can help reduce cement consumption without any loss of concrete performance, thereby contributing to more sustainable concrete production.

Premier Graphene has announced that "one of the world’s largest materials handling company" invited Premier Graphene to permit them to test and separately confirm HGI's proprietary hemp-based graphene formulation in concrete with respect to which it has a distribution license in the United States.

Impressed with the 32% improvements to the tensile strength of Premier’s and HGI’s initial engineering report, performed by Baja California Test S.A. de R.L. de C.V. This major materials handling, production and manufacturing company is performing independent tests to confirm the previous results.

A group of civil engineering technology students who worked on a research project at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) in Calgary has found that adding a certain amount of graphene to concrete can make the material more impermeable to water and increase the strength of the mix.

The students tested the concrete by pouring slabs for a sidewalk and, after conducting a number of freeze-thaw and compressive assessments, found the strength of the material was significantly increased.

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.