Safetytech Accelerator, Partners with Amey and North Lanarkshire Council to Launch Roads Decarbonisation Sandbox

London, 9 December 2024: Safetytech Accelerator (STA) is pleased to announce its partnership with Amey, Colas, Transport for West Midlands, and North Lanarkshire Council in the pioneering ‘Centre of Excellence for Decarbonising Roads’ initiative. Funded by the Department for Transport as part of the ADEPT Live Labs 2 programme, this collaboration aims to transform road construction and maintenance by identifying, trialing, and adopting low-carbon materials. The centre will serve as a key industry hub, advancing sustainable practices in road infrastructure.

 

ADEPT Live Labs 2: Decarbonising Local Roads in the UK is a three-year, UK-wide £30 million programme, funded by the Department for Transport that aims to decarbonise the local highway network. 

One of the four Live Labs themes – The Centre of Excellence for Decarbonising Roads – identifies leading road materials innovations, provides a centralised hub for live trialling and evaluation, develops a knowledge bank and virtual collaboration environment, and enables a process to share and disseminate learnings at pace.  

As part of the ‘Centre of Excellence for Decarbonising Roads’ initiative, Safetytech Accelerator will lead the – Barriers in Roads Decarbonisation Sandbox (BRDS). This programme is designed to investigate barriers preventing the adoption of innovative low-carbon materials in local roads across the UK. By bringing together experts from councils, contractors, innovators, and regulatory bodies, the sandbox will explore the underlying reasons for slow adoption, and develop actionable recommendations to overcome cultural, regulatory, and commercial challenges faced by innovators. 

The sandbox will focus on up to six promising material innovations that have struggled to achieve commercial uptake. Examples of innovations that might be considered include self-healing materials, low-carbon concrete, and recycled plastic roads. Through structured collaboration, the programme will map out the buying journey, evaluate barriers, and conduct pilots to evaluate how the new solutions should be deployed. The insights gained will inform the wider industry and guide future developments in road materials decarbonisation. 

This collaboration represents a crucial step towards creating greener road infrastructure.  With its extensive, global experience in running innovation labs and programmes in safety-critical and infrastructure industries, including a recent regulatory sandbox with the Health and Safety Executive, Safetytech Accelerator is uniquely positioned to drive this pioneering initiative and support UK’s net-zero ambitions.

 

Councillor Helen Loughran, Live Labs 2 Champion and Convener of the Environment and Climate Change Committee, at North Lanarkshire Council said: “The sandbox is an important element of the Centre of Excellence for Decarbonising Roads’ work, and we are pleased to be working with Safetytech Accelerator. 

“As well as identifying and trialling low-carbon materials, we must work with the roads industry to ensure the products are adopted and used effectively. The sandbox will help us understand the barriers to adoption and to find solutions.” 

 

“Amey is delighted to mark the commencement of the sandbox as part of our Live Labs 2 project with North Lanarkshire Council.  We’re committed to identifying and delivering tangible solutions to address the complex barriers to decarbonising local roads” said Lauren SeBlonka, Innovation Project Manager at Amey.

 

“Safetytech Accelerator is proud to work alongside our partners on this important initiative,” said Seb Corby, Principal Consultant at Safetytech Accelerator. “The Centre of Excellence for Decarbonising Roads is a valuable step toward sustainable infrastructure, and our sandbox programme will play a central role in addressing the obstacles to adopting low-carbon materials. Together, we’re committed to developing practical, scalable solutions that support the UK’s climate goals”  

 

 

-ENDS- 

Notes to Editors:  

About Safetytech Accelerator 

Safetytech Accelerator, established by Lloyd’s Register, is the first fully dedicated technology accelerator focused on advancing innovation in safety-critical industries. We are focused on making the world safer, more resilient, and more sustainable by helping organisations operating in safety critical industries to innovate and successfully adopt new technologies.  

For more information on this project or to learn more about Safetytech Accelerator, please visit safetytechaccelerator.org. 

For more information about Barriers to Decarbonising Roads Sandbox please contact Charlotte.Hutton@lr.org  

For more information about the ADEPT Live Labs 2: Decarbonising Local Roads in the UK programme, please contact: Emma Parker Reynolds at Coast Communications on 01579 352600 / 07944 360631 or email: emma@coastmarcoms.co.uk  

The latest information on Live Labs 2 can be found here: www.adeptnet.org.uk/livelabs2   

 

 

ADEPT Live Labs 2: Decarbonising Local Roads in the UK   

ADEPT Live Labs 2 is a three-year, UK-wide £30 million programme funded by the Department for Transport, that aims to decarbonise the local highway network. Following the success of the ADEPT SMART Places Live Labs programme (Live Labs 1), the programme will run until March 2026, with a with a five-year subsequent, extended monitoring and evaluation period. The development of new approaches by local authorities to achieve a net zero local highway network will help tackle immediate and emerging problems and prepare us for our uncertain future. Live Labs 2 is is overseen by a commissioning board including: ADEPT (chair), AtkinsRealis, Colas, Construction LCA, Core Highways, County Surveyors’ Society (CSS) Wales, Department for Infrastructure Northern Ireland, DfT Roads, DfT SciTech, EY, Innovate UK, Kent County Council, Kier Highways, Durham County Council, National Highways, Open Data Institute, Ringway, , Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS), Transport for London and WSP. www.adeptnet.org.uk/livelabs2  

   

   

About ADEPT  

The Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport (ADEPT) represents ‘Directors of Place’ from county, unitary, metropolitan and combined authorities along with directors of local enterprise partnerships, sub-national transport bodies and corporate partners. ADEPT members deliver the projects that are fundamental to creating more resilient communities, economies and infrastructure and provide vital services include housing, environmental and regulatory services, planning, economic development, culture and highways and transport. The Association represents members’ interests by proactively engaging central government on emerging policy & issues, responding to consultations and enquiries, and promoting initiatives and research aimed at influencing policy. For more information on ADEPT please visit the website: www.adeptnet.org.uk