Roger Bullivant agrees graphene deal with Concretene

Under the terms of the deal, Manchester-based Concretene will supply its graphene-enhanced admixture, which reduces embodied carbon in concrete to Roger Bullivant. 

Upon successful completion of a UK government-funded development project for pre-cast piling and foundation applications, commercial deliveries could start as soon as Q4 2024.

Concretene reduces the carbon footprint of concrete by improving compressive, tensile, and flexural strength and durability, such that the amount of cement – which is responsible for more than 85% of emissions from concrete – can be used for equivalent or improved performance. 

The technology has also demonstrated rapid early strength in concrete mixes, with relevance to increased throughput for standard precast applications, and also to mitigate the slower curing times of existing low-carbon cements.

Funding for the precast project, worth UK£1.21 million and commencing immediately, is provided by Innovate UK under its SMART grant, which supports SMEs and industrial partners in developing disruptive innovations with the potential for rapid economic return to the UK.

The award brings Concretene’s total of government funding secured this year for its core programme to more than UK£2.4 million, after three previous awards were announced in October.

Support for the project from Roger Bullivant includes a proposal to establish a pilot manufacturing plant for Concretene at its headquarters in South Derbyshire.

Importantly, the site, fully serviced to provide batching and pre-cast manufacture, would enable Concretene to prove the viability of its manufacturing proposition towards wider scale-up and roll-out to the UK and international concrete industry.

Commenting on the deal, David Clement, managing director of Roger Bullivant, said: “Our precast foundation systems, manufactured using low-carbon concrete are an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional methods.

“As part of Soletanche Bachy and VINCI, we have an ambitious target to reduce our concrete and cement-related CO₂ emissions by 20% by 2030. We also have an in-house expertise in low-carbon concrete under the EXEGY® label. This exciting R&D initiative in partnership with Concretene is the next step in our carbon-reduction journey and is a critical element of our Sustainability strategy.”

Mike Harrison, CEO of Concretene, said: “This is another significant step on our journey to the commercialisation of our product and we are delighted to be working with the team at Roger Bullivant.

“Concretene has an important role to play in helping the construction industry meet challenging net-zero targets and the establishment of pilot manufacturing will be vital as we scale our operation.”