Trials begin on graphene-enhanced green cement

Trials on graphene-enhanced green cement are due to begin in June this year, lead by a consortium including First Graphene Ltd, Breedon Cement Ltd, Morgan Sindall Construction and The University of Manchester.

The consortium first received funding for its research in February 2022 when its was awarded GBP190,034 (US$235,585) by the UK government’s innovation agency, Innovate UK. Since then, data from production sites at Breedon and First Graphene has shown that graphene-enhanced cement has the ability to both offset CO₂ and demonstrate potential mechanical benefits, even at graphene loading levels of less than 0.06 per cent.

“Our research and development in collaboration with some of the world’s most innovative materials technology organisations, coupled with buy-in from industry partners to trial our graphene products, sets the foundation for a strong commercialisation pathway,” said Michael Bell, CEO and managing director at First Graphene. “Greening of the concrete and cement sector provides our company a great opportunity to strengthen both our revenue and ultimately profitability as market demand for decarbonisation technologies and materials increases.”

The trials will involve around 2000t of graphene-enhanced cement being produced by Breedon for use in real-world demonstrations by Morgan Sindall Construction. The plan is to add graphene to the cement production line using a range of methods that involve minimal changes to the existing plant. The final cement’s performance as a binder in mortar and concrete system will then be analysed. According to First Graphene, it has already secured a 1t order for a further trial of the graphene-enhanced concrete, which is scheduled for 2024.

“The emerging green cement and concrete market is estimated to be worth US$56bn by 2027. We have experienced a surge in demand for our PureGRAPH® enhanced products at a time commercial scale trials are dialing up. With pressure growing on the cement and concrete industry to reduce carbon emissions, First Graphene anticipates interest in PureGRAPH® products will have an increasingly positive impact on our company’s revenue streams from this segment,” added Mr Bell.