Live Labs 2 blog - an update from the Transport for West Midlands project
In this month’s Live Labs 2 project blog, Joseph Webster, Carbon Reduction Project Coordinator Apprentice for the TfWM UK Centre of Excellence for the Decarbonisation of Roads (CEDR - South Campus) shares the latest from the team and the project and looks ahead to a packed 2026.
Since our last update, the South Campus of CEDR has been busy with the process and application of delivering trials, building social value in our region, developing carbon training and moving the sector towards a lower-carbon future.
Recent trials and pothole phase 2
Expanding on our successful phase 1 pothole trials, working alongside Sandwell MBC and supported by JA Bates, we installed 28 uniform patch repairs. Each repair was installed adjacent to the next, allowing us to assess carbon and longevity side-by-side. These trials form phase 2 of our ongoing work into pothole repair materials and build on the progress in both North and South Campus’ pothole programmes. This is helping us to build the evidence base for more sustainable and longer-lasting repairs. During the trials we utilised:
- Thermal Road Repairs
- HRA
- Viafix
- Degafill
- Ultipatch bio
- Elastomac
- EZ street asphalt
Alongside our ‘uniform pothole repairs’, we also repaired other defects on the site, utilising Thermal Road Repairs and Elastomac. This has enabled us to gather operational data such as fuel usage, time per m2, quantity per repair etc. Our team captured comprehensive data on both works and regular visual inspections to monitor the operational performance of the innovations have begun.
Rejuvenation phase 2
We have expanded our exploration of asphalt preservation and rejuvenation with Surface Treatment Phase 2 trials that were undertaken across the West Midlands Network.
We applied:
- PenTack
- Rhinophalt
- Everphalt
These innovations were applied on carriageways of various ages, ranging from relatively early-life assets (around 1 year old) through to more mature pavements exceeding 15 years in use. This will help our project team to understand the best use case for each of these products within an asset management lifecycle, and this is information we can then share as part of the dissemination of knowledge aspect of the Live Labs 2 initiative.
Each site is benchmarked with a do-nothing scenario allowing direct comparison against untreated carriageway sections. Each section will also undergo pre- and post-treatment testing, with inspections taking place at regular intervals throughout the year. These trials are designed to rigorously evaluate the potential carbon savings, cost-effectiveness, and long-term performance of these preventative surface treatment solutions on roads of various ages.
Resurfacing
The South Campus have concluded the live road network resurfacing trials in Walsall and Coventry. We trialled both innovative surface course and binder materials, with control sections for comparability throughout.
We utilised a variety of new low-carbon innovations and additives such as:
- Graphene.
- Lignin.
- Foamix eco with ACLA.
- Foamix eco with Biochar/lignin.
- Biochar.
- Polymer Modified Bio Binder.
These trial sections will undergo extensive lab testing to help further quantify any potential carbon savings and performance data. The project team will also conduct visual inspections of the trial sites at regular intervals.
These inspections will assess:
- surface condition
- early signs of deterioration
- overall asset performance in real-world operating conditions
These photos and video resources and further information on the visual assessments will be compiled and made available via our Knowledge Bank in due course.
We have also been developing studies into more novel resurfacing innovations, such as graphene asphalt which was first laid in 2019 and has only been used a small number of times since. With the goal of collating the limited knowledge and experience around these innovations, we have been speaking to Local Highways authorities about their experience with the materials and pairing it with studies and data garnered from Live Labs 1.
The resulting output of this will be one large case study, containing in-depth and robust data and experience around these novel innovations.
Social Value
The project team has also actively engaged with schools in the West Midlands, supporting the careers awareness and skills development within the transport sector. This has included attending and presenting at careers fairs, engaging with students on purpose of CEDR the range of roles available within the industry.
In addition, we delivered an assembly to sixth-form students, highlighting the purpose of the programme and the breadth of roles available across the transport sector. Through this engagement, the project has contributed to social value and skills awareness.
Training
The project team has been developing a highways specific carbon literacy training programme. with the purpose of informing Local Authorities on the basics of CEDR and carbon in the industry. The training will have modules that cover:
- climate change and emissions
- history of emissions in the industry and modern solutions
- barriers to adoption
- climate resilience
- carbon calculation
- CEDR – trials and next steps
This process of developing the training is nearing completion and we look forward to providing updates on the programme and the opportunities it will offer in due course.
Thinking ahead
Looking ahead, the project will continue building momentum and maximising CEDR’s impact before the project’s completion in March, when we move into a monitoring and evaluation phase. We will achieve this by continuing to upload case studies from both our trials and Local Authorities’ experiences, these will be available on the CEDR knowledge bank. We will continue to gather data on our trials, with the help of regular visual inspections and our academic lab testing.
Disseminating the lessons learned, identifying best practice and sharing real-world insights to ultimately promote a lower-carbon more resilient highways sector, remain our key objectives and we are looking forward to a busy 2026.
Further information
The recently launched CEDR Knowledge Bank aims to support the journey of adopting low-carbon road materials. It contains case studies, the innovation log and detailed information of a wide variety of materials used across the UK.
If you have information regarding an innovation, wish to add your material to the log, or have a case study you think would be suitable, please contribute it here: https://kb.decarbonisingroads.co.uk/
For more information on ADEPT Live Labs 2: Decarbonising Local Roads in the UK, please look at the Live Labs 2 section on the ADEPT website
You can find further information on the TfWM project here.
Author
Joseph Webster, Carbon Reduction Project Coordinator Apprentice, TfWM and the UK Centre of Excellence for the Decarbonisation of Roads
