Graphene-enhanced smart geotextiles pass field trials in Australia

摘要

Imagine Intelligent Materials (IM) of Rosebery, New South Wales, Australia, has completed the first independent field trials of its conductive geotextiles enhanced with graphene (imgne X3) in Melbourne, Victoria. With the global geosynthetics market predicted to be worth US$16 billion by 2018, the development of robust leak-detection solutions as an entry point into this market was decided upon by the company after detailed business discussions with its initial commercial partner, Melbourne-based Geofabrics Australasia Imagine IM Chief Operating Officer (COO) Phillip Aitchison says: "We developed imgne X3 as a graphene-based coating that enables the delivery of conductivity in textiles and on other materials without impacting the strength and other characteristics of the materials themselves. The development is a major milestone for us: we have now proven our ability to both manufacture graphene at scale, and also to be able to produce masterbatch solutions that will enable large-scale industrial applications using graphene to make smart materials."