A STAVELEY business has teamed up with a leading Manchester university to position itself at the forefront of sports footwear technology.

Inov-8 is the first company to incorporate graphene into its running and fitness shoes.

The British brand has teamed up with The University of Manchester to work on the new product.

Michael Price, inov-8 product and marketing director, said: “Off-road runners and fitness athletes live at the sporting extreme and need the stickiest outsole grip possible to optimize their performance, be that when running on wet trails or working out in sweaty gyms. For too long, they have had to compromise this need for grip with the knowledge that such rubber wears down quickly.”

Produced from graphite, the material was first isolated at The University of Manchester in 2004.

Commenting on the collaboration and the patent-pending technology, inov-8 CEO Ian Bailey said: “Product innovation is the number-one priority for our brand. It’s the only way we can compete against the major sports brands. The pioneering collaboration between inov-8 and the University of Manchester puts us – and Britain – at the forefront of a graphene sports footwear revolution.

“And this is just the start, as the potential of graphene really is limitless. We are so excited to see where this journey will take us.”

The scientists who first isolated graphene were awarded the Nobel Prize for physics in 2010.

Building on their work, the team at The University of Manchester has pioneered projects into graphene-enhanced sports cars, medical devices and aeroplanes.

Dr Aravind Vijayaraghavan, Reader in Nanomaterials at the University of Manchester, said: “Despite being the thinnest material in the world, graphene is also the strongest, and is 200 times stronger than steel. It’s also extraordinarily flexible, and can be bent, twisted, folded and stretched without incurring any damage.

“The graphene-enhanced rubber can flex and grip to all surfaces more effectively, without wearing down quickly, providing reliably strong, long-lasting grip.

“This is a revolutionary consumer product that will have a huge impact on the sports footwear market.”