UK pledges £10 mn for research hub to decarbonise transport

The new hub will also develop and implement innovative ideas to ensure future transport is resilient and meets the challenges of climate adaption, such as changes to weather and water levels. It will focus on the UK’s transport sector’s needs over the next 25 years as the government works to meet its 2050 net zero goals, according to a press release by the UK’s department of transport.

Currently, transport accounts for 27 per cent of the UK’s emissions and the hub will drive decarbonisation solutions, such as greater use of recycled materials and reducing the carbon footprint of repairs and maintenance.

Decarbonisation minister Jesse Norman said: “This new UK research hub will build a centre of excellence for the future development of low-carbon transport. It will aim to provide a link for early-stage innovation and later stage demonstration across multiple transport modes to create, develop, and test climate-resilient solutions that recognise how different places and types of transport will require different answers.

“By researching the challenges of the transport sector in adapting to climate change and securing UK innovation, the centre will look to offer responsive, practical, and evidence-based support to transport decision-makers and develop and implement sustainable, low-carbon solutions across existing and new infrastructure.”

Some of the areas the hub will be expected to research include solutions for resilient transport infrastructure; streetscape; localised climate modelling of temperature, sea-level, and weather; and bridging the gap between infrastructure research and policy.

The hub is expected to help in researching ways to improve the design of transport related infrastructure to better cope with potential climate impacts and reduce emissions, for example increasing use of recycled materials, increasing biodiversity in projects, or ways to use fewer materials.

The designing of streets could be explored to minimise carbon emissions, improve drivers’ and pedestrians’ mental health and wellbeing, and ensure their resilience to potential climate impacts. A better understanding could be gained of potential climate impacts on specific areas, in part, to prioritise those places most in need for possible adaptive measures and projects. Moreover, ways could be researched to shorten the time between developing innovative solutions and their wider adoption.

The hub will be funded through UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Building a Green Future strategic theme to accelerate the UK’s transition to a secure and prosperous green economy by 2050. This theme is a partnership between government departments, industry, and UKRI to fast-track the development of innovative solutions needed to meet the UK’s net zero goals.

Over 80 per cent of the funding for the hub will come from the government through the department for transport, UKRI (via the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council), and organisations in the Transport Research and Innovation Board, with the remaining coming from the winning research centre, which will become the home of the hub.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (NB)