U.S-based Alliance Rubber recently signed an agreement with University of Sussex to study how graphene could be used in rubber products. Under the agreement, Alliance Rubber will sponsor research work exclusively on graphene projects for three years.

Potential applications the company plans to investigate include a rubber band that fits around credit and debit cards with RFID chips and prevents hackers from remotely accessing information stored on the chips, a rubber band around produce that changes color when the produce reaches a set temperature or after a certain amount of time passes after harvest, and a rubber band that acts as a bar code on produce in grocery stores.

Alliance Rubber is reportedly investing about the same amount of money in this research as it has spent in the past several years on research and development, though exact amounts were not disclosed. Alliance emphasized that it is a long-term investment.