Gloucestershire-based engineering materials firm Versarien (www.versarien.com) has secured a contract to supply graphene to a major European tyre producer. The deal was arranged by OQEMA (formerly Lansdowne Chemicals), with whom Versarien established a distribution agreement in February last year.

The company will initially provide 500g of Nanene — its graphene nano-platelet powder — to the un-named tyre producer, which will look at the benefits of adding graphene to car tyres.

Graphene is a type of carbon made up of sheets that are just one atom thick, and it has been called the most durable material ever tested.

Due to its strength, it has been tested for use in a wide variety of products such as display screens,electric/ photonics circuits and solar cells, as well as various medical, chemical and industrial processes.

Neill Ricketts, chief executive of Versarien, said: “We are delighted to have secured this initial contract to supply Nanene to a leading producer of tyres. We look forward to working with them to explore the benefits that graphene can bring to their products.”