Seven schemes across the UK that seek to decarbonise the UK’s motorways have been allocated £30m of Levelling Up funding.
The schemes to receive the funding are part of a Decarbonising Local Roads competition, which supports projects led by Local Highways Authorities. The projects include using asphalt made from grass cuttings and carbon capturing cement, and cutting carbon emissions from streetlights.
Among the projects to have won funding is the Highways CO2llaboration Centre in the West Midlands, which aims to decarbonise highways using innovative decarbonised highway materials; the UK Centre of Excellence for Material Decarbonisation in Local Roads in North Lanarkshire, developing a materials testing programme identifying and deploying the latest tech for road construction, as well as testing and deploying recycled materials from other industries to build roads; and a scheme in Somerset, Cornwall and Hampshire with the objective of building ‘net zero roads’ without increasing overall carbon emissions.
“The UK is a world leader in technology and innovation, and we must use that strength to both drive decarbonisation and the next generation of high-tech jobs that go alongside it,” said roads minister Richard Holden. “We are supporting this vital agenda to help level-up through £30m funding for ground-breaking projects and boosting regional connections to support growth.
“The Government is determined to create good, well-paid jobs - via innovation and investment across the UK - as we accelerate the road to net zero.”
