Transport for West Midlands: UK Centre of Excellence for Decarbonising Roads - South Campus

Theme:

A UK centre of excellence for materials.

Local authorities:

Transport for West Midlands

Overview:

This project is aimed at reducing carbon in materials used in local roads in the West Midlands and in North Lanarkshire. The team are trialling new materials, and working together across the sector, breaking down the barriers between local authorities and making changes needed in our nation for a better tomorrow.

Project description:

Trials of innovative materials happen throughout the UK on a continual basis with authorities demonstrating locally that materials work in practice, but these demonstrators occur within silos and rarely compare against other materials in the market. Without comparison, we never really move forward, update standards or gain confidence in what others are doing/have done.

The Centre of Excellence for Decarbonising Roads (CEDR) aims to demonstrate, showcase, and evaluate a wide range of innovative decarbonised highway materials, contrasting techniques against each other across a range of complementary networks. CEDR will be delivered by a global best-in-class team including academic partners, TRL, Connected Places Catapult and National Highways. We aim to break down silos in materials-testing and support the national deployment of the best materials to help Local Authorities to catapult over trial phases and immediately start making progress towards their net zero targets, whilst also developing an international reputation for excellence.

Project value:

£4m.