Madrid, December 17, 2020. Lantania and Graphenea have signed a collaboration agreement to jointly study the use of graphene in concrete. The objective of this project is to bring to the market additives for concrete based on graphene oxides that offer significant improvements in performance. The infrastructure, water and energy group and the technology company specialized in the development and production of graphene materials will have the support of the Agustín de Betancourt Foundation of the Higher Technical School of Engineers of Roads, Canals and Ports (ETSICCP) of the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) in this research.

The project will last for one year, renewable, and will be carried out in three phases. In the first stage, the tests of graphene oxide additives in pastes will be carried out, which will be developed in the Department of Civil Engineering at UPM, while in a second stage the tests will be carried out in the laboratory with concrete, to conclude with a third phase of application on site.

The role of UPM in the partnership is to evaluate the mechanical, durable and microstructural characterization properties of the mixtures, while Graphenea will provide the graphene materials necessary for the development of the research and for its possible commercial exploitation. Lantania will carry out the installation of concrete with graphene in one of its projects.

Recent research has shown that concrete enhanced with graphene additives offers greater mechanical strength and durability than conventional concrete. The use of graphene additives can allow a reduction in the carbon footprint compared to the use of additives and the manufacture of conventional concretes.

Known as the material of the future, graphene is a single layer (monolayer) of carbon atoms tightly bound together in a hexagonal honeycomb lattice. It is the lightest and thinnest compound known at one atom thick, the strongest, the best conductor of heat at room temperature, and also the best conductor of electricity. Its uses are multiple, from increasing the capacity, charging rate and longevity of batteries; the manufacture of microchips, to the generation of energy and flexible screens, among many others.

About Lantania

The Lantania Group builds large transport, water and energy infrastructures to improve the quality of life and build a cleaner and more sustainable world. The company will close the year with a portfolio of work in progress of 350 million euros and with assets of more than 80 million. The extension of the Autovía de la Plata A-66 (Asturias), the bridge over the Genil river in Huétor-Tajar (Granada), the extension of the Guadalajara Hospital, the conservation of the runways at the Adolfo Suárez - Madrid Barajas Airport or the electrification of the first section of Ave a Extremadura are some of its most outstanding projects.

About Graphenea

Graphenea is a technology company created in 2010 specialized in the production of graphene. The company, with offices in San Sebastián and Boston, has clients in more than 60 countries. Through research and innovation, Graphenea supports its customers with new forms of this material from CVD graphene films, graphene field effect transistor (GFET) chips, graphene chip manufacturing services (GFAB) and graphene oxides. In 2013, the company received an investment from Repsol to enhance its technological capacity, support its growth as a business and allow it to maintain its leadership in the emerging graphene production sector.

About the Agustín de Betancourt Foundation

The impulse of four Civil Engineers, Channels and Ports (Raúl Celestino Gómez, José María Navarro Oliva, José María García González and Pedro Suárez Bores) interested in promoting research within the scope of the Higher Technical School of Civil Engineers, Channels and Puertos de Madrid (directed at that time by Enrique Balaguer) and in facilitating collaboration with companies linked to Civil Engineering, resulted in the constitution of the Agustín de Betancourt Foundation in May 1977. Since then the Foundation has been the nexus of the world academic with industry and society in the Civil Engineering sector.