LONDON, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The world's first-ever sports shoes to utilise graphene, the strongest material on the planet, were unveiled Wednesday.
The shoes have been developed after months of secret tests by the University of Manchester, where graphene was invented, and British brand inov-8.
Inov-8 is the first brand in the world to use the Nobel Prize winning material in sports footwear, with its G-SERIES shoes which go on sale to the public in July.
Michael Price, inov-8 product and marketing director, said: "Over the last 18 months, we have worked with the National Graphene Institute at the University of Manchester to bring the world's toughest grip to the sports footwear market."
"Prior to this innovation, off-road runners and fitness athletes had to choose between a sticky rubber that works well in wet or sweaty conditions but wears down quicker, and a harder rubber that is more durable but not quite as grippy. Through intensive research, hundreds of prototypes and thousands of hours of testing in both the field and laboratory, athletes now no longer need to compromise."
Dr. Aravind Vijayaraghavan with the University of Manchester, said: "Using graphene, we have developed G-SERIES outsole rubbers that are scientifically tested to be 50 percent stronger, 50 percent more elastic and 50 percent harder wearing."
"We are delighted to put graphene on the shelves of retail stores all over the world and make it accessible to everyone. Graphene is a versatile material with limitless potential, and in coming years we expect to deliver graphene technologies in composites, coatings and sensors, many of which will further revolutionise sports products."
Ian Bailey, CEO of inov-8 said: "We are at the forefront of a graphene sports footwear revolution and we're not stopping at just rubber outsoles. This is a four-year innovation project which will see us incorporate graphene into 50 percent of our range and give us the potential to halve the weight of running/fitness shoes without compromising on performance or durability."
Graphene is produced from graphite. As well as being 200 times stronger than steel and super-lightweight, graphene is also the thinnest material on earth.