Concretene founders engage with the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) on an initial study into graphene-enhanced concrete. The trial delivers promising indicative results for reduction of carbon footprint in concrete via improved mechanical performance, which potentially allows for less cement to be used for the same or better compressive strength.

Concretene takes membership of the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre – allowing for access to lab space, specialist equipment and collaborative projects with the institute’s application engineers. Alongside the university’s Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering, the combined team wins a grant of £378k from Innovate UK to develop and test a new graphene-enhanced admixture, optimised to improve the mechanical performance of concrete.

After the Innovate UK study reports 25-30% uplifts in strength, Concretene is deployed in scaled demonstrator projects in Wiltshire and Manchester. More than 300m3 of graphene-enhanced concrete is poured, comprising a gym floor in Amesbury, a parking bay outside the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre and a mezzanine deck at the Escape to Freight Island leisure complex in central Manchester. The technology receives widespread national and international press coverage.

In October 2022, Concretene receives £3.5m in seed funding from VC fund LocalGlobe, the leading funder of unicorns in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Concretene announces equity partnerships with global engineering consultancy Arup and graphene manufacturer Black Swan Graphene. Building on its existing partnership with The University of Manchester, Concretene takes a private formulations lab in the GEIC and commission concrete testing facilities in the adjacent Pariser Building.

In 2023, Concretene wins a further ~£2m in UK government funding for three projects: formulation work with graphene material supply chain; pre-cast work with UK piling manufacturer Roger Bullivant; and railway sleeper development with the Global Centre for Rail Excellence. A core team is hired for materials and formulations labs in Manchester and work begins to optimise the product with scalable, affordable material supply and application focus towards commercial roll-out.

Concretene expands to 18 full-time staff and begins a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with The University of Manchester. Seed+ funding of £3m is secured from a round co-led by tech-focused UK VCs Molten Ventures and LocalGlobe. Working closely with Arup, Cemex and supply chain partners, Concretene targets and market-ready, accredited product in Q3 of 2025