Waste management company Tadweer, Masdar City, GIGA Graphene Technologies (GGT), and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure have signed a partnership agreement to develop sustainable concrete in the country.

The partners will focus on developing UK-based Graphene Innovations Manchester’s (GIM) Concrete, which is claimed to be an innovative construction material.

GIM Concrete is made from recyclable resources and significantly reduces carbon dioxide emissions.

It also eliminates the use of water, cures quickly, and is expected to eventually become carbon-negative.

GIM Concrete is developed using recycled waste by GIM, which is a spin-out from the University of Manchester and a GGT partner.

GGT chair Waleed Al Ali said: “This is a major milestone for our recently formed company, based in Masdar City, as we aim to take sustainable GIM Concrete throughout the UAE. This is an important step towards using GIM-developed technology to build a graphene-based gigafactory in the UAE.”

The concrete’s initial products will be used for bricks, pavers, and tiles within the country's construction industry.

UK ambassador to the UAE Edward Hobart said: “Great to see fruition of this exciting UK-UAE collaboration with key partners to develop Manchester Graphene innovation on a big scale to decarbonise such a relevant sector as the built environment not only in UAE but the Global South too.”

Tadweer, which is promoting waste as a valuable source among global communities, has developed a circular economy concept for the solution.

The company’s efforts are expected to support the use of GIM Concrete by using recycled waste to further develop the new highly sustainable, graphene-enhanced product.

Earlier this year, UAE-based Quazar Investment and GIM teamed up to develop and manufacture eco-friendly building materials.