Highways England chiefs have linked-up with the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) to see how the wonder material can improve the road network.

Graphene is up to 200 times stronger than steel and just one atom thick.

Highways England believes adding graphene into maintenance and renewals operations has the potential to extend asset life and make the network perform at an “industry changing level.”

They will now work with the GEIC to explore the operational and road user benefit of incorporating graphene into assets such as road surfacing and road markings as well as help to drive the development of a low carbon and digital road network.

Paul Doney, Innovation Director at Highways England said: “We are really excited about the opportunity to explore leading edge materials and what this might lead to for our road network.

“GEIC is at the forefront, having made the discovery here in Manchester, and by building a collaboration with our operations teams who understand the challenges, we are looking to deliver improved safety and performance of our roads.”