Graphene@Manchester teams up with Highways England

Highways England has again joined forces with graphene experts at The University of Manchester to deliver a new package of innovations.

The research partnership will support a series of projects to investigate how graphene – the world’s first 2D material and boasting unique properties – can help Highways England overcome a number of challenges facing the nation’s motorways and highways.

The new package of work, which has been commissioned by the government company, follows previous research carried out in specialist labs at the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) in Manchester.

This latest programme will see how graphene applications can help improve the resilience and durability of many parts of the road network - and even 'blue-sky thinking' around improved inclusion of electrical circuitry in our road systems.

“We are delighted to be continuing our work with Highways England on what will be a wide range of exciting projects,” said Dr Craig Dawson, Applications Manager from Graphene@Manchester.

Paul Doney, Innovation Director at Highways England, added: “We are proud that Highways England is at the forefront of innovation changes in the transport industry.

Highways England is responsible for the motorways and major A roads in the country, which carry four million journeys over 4,300 miles of road.

The Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) specialises in the rapid development and scale up of graphene and other 2D materials applications. The GEIC is an industry-led innovation centre, designed to work in collaboration with industry partners to create, test and optimise new concepts for delivery to market.

Advanced materials is one of The University of Manchester’s research beacons - examples of pioneering discoveries, interdisciplinary collaboration and cross-sector partnerships that are tackling some of the biggest questions facing the planet. #ResearchBeacons

(Main image by John Howard from Pixabay)