Asphalt

This paper considers how graphene additions may improve mechanical and barrier performance in polymer-based materials while supporting lightweight designs. It notes that dispersion, processing and application-specific validation remain important.

The city of Barcelona plans to transform a street into a climate laboratory by 2027, using asphalt that incorporates biochar made from olive pits and other biomass. This initiative aims to explore the potential of biochar in reducing urban heat and enhancing the sustainability of road materials.

Verde Resources, through its subsidiary Verde Renewables, has signed a 10-year Master Commercialization and Collaboration Agreement with Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions to supply engineered biochar for road paving and manage associated carbon removal credits. This partnership positions Verde as a key supplier in the asphalt industry, leveraging biochar to create sustainable infrastructure solutions and potentially generating additional revenue through carbon credits.

Verde Resources and Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions have signed a 10-year agreement to advance the use of engineered biochar in cold paving applications, moving their collaboration into a commercial phase. This development is significant for the advanced carbon materials sector as it tests biochar's practical performance in real-world infrastructure projects, potentially paving the way for wider adoption of carbon-storing materials in road maintenance and construction.

Barcelona City Hall, in collaboration with the BIT Habitat foundation and BIMSA, is trialling asphalt mixed with biochar from olive pits and pine biomass, starting in September with monitoring through 2027. This initiative aims to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 76% and store carbon in the road itself, potentially transforming road infrastructure into a long-term carbon sink using biochar.

AMSA, ELSAN, and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya developed an asphalt mixture incorporating biochar derived from olive pits and pine residues via pyrolysis, with lab tests showing up to 75% emissions reduction in the treated pavement layer. The development expands biochar applications into road construction, positioning agricultural and forestry waste as a carbon-sequestering input for infrastructure materials.

The Advanced Carbons Council published an overview of graphene and other advanced carbon materials being adopted in construction, citing applications in concrete (Concretene, First Graphene, Versarien), asphalt, and corrosion-resistant coatings (Petronas). These developments indicate growing commercial deployment of graphene additives in construction materials, with documented performance gains in compressive strength, road durability, and steel protection at low material loadings.

The Advanced Carbons Council highlights graphene and related carbon materials being adopted in construction applications including concrete additives (Concretene, First Graphene), graphene-reinforced 3D-printed components (Versarien), asphalt modification, and corrosion-resistant coatings (Petronas). For the advanced carbon materials sector, construction has emerged as a leading commercial deployment area, with multiple suppliers demonstrating validated, scalable products that improve strength, durability, and emissions performance without requiring major process changes.

Terrance Barkan of The Graphene Council published a framework mapping the commercialization maturity journey of graphene through stages from discovery to mature commercialization, identifying nine recurring obstacles including capital access, regulation, standardization, and value chain complexity. The framework positions graphene as approaching proven commercial viability in multiple application areas—including composites, construction materials, and thermal management—while arguing that its "killer application" lies in broad adoption as a performance-enhancing additive across sectors rather than in any single use case.