As reported by the BBC, this new trial differs in that National Highways will be adding the graphene to the mix on site. The road authority will scrape up the existing asphalt along a three-mile (4.8-km) section of the A1 in the north, add in the raw graphene on site and then apply the fresh mixture to the surface, a technique it bills as a world-first.
"Laboratory trials have been a success and the on-site trials in Northumberland will be a world first use of graphene in road production, which enforces our commitment to innovation and helps to push the industry towards more carbon-friendly maintenance with longer-lasting solutions which we all benefit from," says National Highways Asset Needs Manager Graeme Watt.
The trials are being carried out with researchers at the University of Manchester, where graphene was first isolated back in 2004. Since then, scientists at the university have continued to uncover exciting new properties of the material and broaden its applications, which recently included putting it to use as the world's first graphene-enhanced concrete slab.