Concrete has a huge carbon footprint. Graphene could change that


Concrete has been described as the most destructive material on Earth. After water, it’s the most used substance in the world, with twice the usage of steel, wood, plastics, and aluminium combined.

To manufacture all this concrete, more than 4 billion tonnes of cement are produced every year. According to the Chatham House think tank, that creates around 8% of all CO2 emissions — more than what’s caused by all the trucks across the globe.

Cement makers urgently need to reduce this footprint. To meet the requirements of the Paris Agreement on climate change, the industry needs to cut emissions by at least 16% by 2030. At the same time, the sector faces growing demand from rapid urbanization and population growth.

It’s foreboding problem. But engineers believe that graphene offers a solution.

“Just 0.01% of the material is required.

First isolated at the University of Manchester in 2004, Graphene’s 2D nature provides a unique combination of strength, flexibility, lightness, and conductivity. These properties caught the eye of Nationwide Engineering, a British construction business. 

The firm’s memorably-acronymed R&D subsidiary, NERD (Nationwide Engineering Research and Development), was tasked with turning the “wonder material” into a new additive: Concretene