Equity deal in low emission concrete completed

Innovative technology that reduces carbon emissions in concrete construction has received equity investment.

Concretene is concrete that is enhanced with graphene which reduces carbon emissions by 30%. It has been created at Manchester’s Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (NERD). An equity deal has been completed between Concretene developer, Nationwide Engineering Research & Development (NERD), Arup, a global engineering consultancy, and Black Swan Graphene. The deal provides 4.2% equity in NERD in return for expertise and collaboration to sell Concretene globally.

Rob Hibberd, the NERD CEO said:

“We look forward to combining our skillsets to deliver Concretene to the construction industry in our drive to reduce global CO2 emissions.”

The CEO of Black Swan, Simon Marcotte, said that the low emission concrete could revolutionise sustainable practices in the construction industry.

Concrete is the most common material used in the building industry and accounts for 8% to 10% of global carbon emissions. Concretene may be able to replace over 99% of concrete in the construction industry, including concrete flooring. Other benefits of the new concrete include the reduction of steel reinforcements, reducing cement content by up to a half, and gains in compressive strength. The developers of Concretene, NERD, claim that it can decrease construction costs by between 10% and 20%.

NERD predicts that it will take around three years until Concretene is fully available. Early adopters include Heathrow and Manchester Airport, National Highways and National Rail. Large scale trials with these early adopters will prove the cost profile, reliability and reproducibility of the new concrete.