New road surface material tested in Essex leads to fewer potholes and higher durability
Graphene has been used with asphalt on a section of the A1016
Graphene, which is 200 time stronger than steel, has been used in the road material of part of the A1016 in Chelmsford, as part of a trial.
The test's results determined that the road surface experienced a 20% increase in it's durability, leading to fewer potholes.
Will Woodward, from NESTA, the UK's innovation agency, says that Essex and the UK have a "pothole problem", with the RAC estimating six potholes for every 300 metres of council-controlled roads in England and Wales.
"Normally with asphalt, what tends to happen is it tends to get warmer in the summer, obviously, and colder in the winter, so it expands and contracts, and that can lead it to crack.
"When water gets in that and cars drive over, the cracks essentially expand into potholes.
"Graphene is one of the strongest materials that we know of. It's about 200 times stronger than steel, but it's also very, very flexible. And so by adding a little bit of graphene to the asphalt mixture, you can massively increase the durability and strength of the road material.
"If you have fewer potholes in the roads, you have fewer pothole-related breakdowns, and so fewer people having to pay to repair their vehicles.
"You tend to swerve around potholes, so there's also the element of sort of safety."
Will said that companies are looking to work on scaling up the road material, as the government has put more money into councils for road repairs.