Watch our Application Support Webinar here
National Highways Accelerating Low Carbon Innovation Programme
To apply, please register below, you will then be taken through to the application form.
Applications are now closed.
Watch our application support webinar here and find the presentation slides here.
The webinar covered the journey of the programme to date, presentation National Highways and information on the challenges that have been set, alongside supporting information on the overall programme vision and guidance on the application process.
What is the National Highways Accelerating Low Carbon Innovation Programme?
National Highways, in partnership with Connected Places Catapult, is launching a brand-new programme with the objective to accelerate innovative solutions for net zero carbon maintenance and construction.
Aligned with the UK’s overall net-zero strategy, National Highways aims to make the road network net-zero by 2050. Most relevant for this programme, it aims to have its maintenance and construction emissions net-zero by 2040. We’re hosting an open competition because we want to attract new ideas that we haven’t yet trialled, tested or even thought of ourselves.
This is why National Highways is offering funding to innovators for the development of novel solutions that could make a real difference to how highways are built and maintained.
Key Dates
Applications open
Application closing date
Technical Due Diligence Interviews
Commercial Due Diligence Interviews
Cohort selection
Welcome Day
Selection for Phase 2
End of the programme
About the Programme
The National Highways Accelerating Low Carbon Innovation Programme involves two phases. It will support innovative concepts that accelerate the transition to net zero in the maintenance and construction of the strategic road network.
In phase 1,
up to 10 SMEs
will be awarded funding of between
£15k to £30k
to develop innovative trial proposals in collaboration with National Highways and their Tier 1 suppliers.
In phase 2, further funding of
up to £80k
will be provided to support a
select number
of these organisations to trial their solutions.
All funding is subject to investment approval by National Highways. The funds will be allocated based on the proposals submitted by the applicants.
We also welcome applications from existing National Highways suppliers (Tier 1s, 2s, 3s etc) developing net zero solutions. Existing suppliers can apply individually or form a consortium with an SME collaborator. We will select up to five applications from existing suppliers. Please note that Tier 1s and 2s will not receive any funding as part of the programme.
We're interested in innovative solutions that can address challenges in at least one of these three thematic areas:
Challenge 1
Alternative Materials
Challenge 2
Challenge 3
Enablers for the circular economy in
construction and maintenance of highway assets
Open Challenge
Programme challenges
We're interested in innovative solutions that can address challenges in at least one of these three thematic areas:
Alternative Materials
We want to reduce our emissions from cement, concrete, asphalt and steel by developing or applying alternative materials and techniques. These options should reduce emissions by 50% or more if possible, compared to the materials used today, and should be usable for a large proportion of all applications including major projects and renewal schemes. For these materials any secondary impacts (e.g. on cost and safety) and the full lifecycle impact on construction and maintenance should be considered.
Enablers for the circular economy in construction and maintenance of highway assets
We are interested in innovations which can contribute to reusing, redeploying and recycling materials and assets in construction, especially those not recycled consistently to their highest value today. This includes any digital or non-digital enablers supporting these activities and associated calculation of impact. The enablers can also include novel technologies or techniques to assess suitability for reuse/redeployment at different locations; with a focus on using potential waste materials at their highest value. We are also interested in innovations contributing to “design for deconstruction”, enabling the use of decommissioned and recycled materials and assets for different purposes from construction through to maintenance, considering the end-to-end lifecycle of the asset.
Decision-making enablers for asset management and whole life value of assets
As new build activities are projected to reduce over the coming years, maintenance and renewals of highway assets will form an increasingly important part of asset management, especially in increasing longevity of assets. First, we are interested in innovations which can improve asset management decision-making considering whole lifecycle value, including carbon emissions (alongside other criteria including customer value and cost). Second, we would like innovations able to support decision-making for future maintenance choices, promoting planned, predictive, and preventive interventions . These innovations could leverage information (e.g. from sensors, cameras, third parties such as vehicle telemetry, etc.), supporting asset management and emissions reduction in a way that is accessible, repeatable, and aligning to quality standards set in our strategies. Please, take the time to visit the links provided from National Highways website.
Open Challenge
Although this accelerator focuses primarily on the three challenge areas described above, we are also open to additional innovative ideas which can contribute to our target of zero emissions in maintenance and construction by 2040. Example areas (not exclusive) where applications are welcome are material waste reduction technologies, processes and enablers, modular construction and standard designs, 3D printing of construction assets, smart contracts, data analytics of emissions, material storage, and methods and techniques to accelerate certification of materials and changes to standards.
What is on offer?
Funding Opportunities
The opportunity to access between £15K and £30K in funding for developing a trial
proposal and up to £80K for subsequent trialling.
Coaching & Mentorship
Including pitch coaching, business/investment support and marketing strategy.
Trial
Support
Trial design, deployment support, monitoring and evaluation.
Technical Support
Technical support and access to technical experts
Growth Focus
6 months tailored business support
Solution Showcase
Demonstration day to raise your profile among investors, industry and potential
customers.
Business Development
Business development opportunities and introduction to potential customers
Programme Goals
- Bespoke business support to 10 disruptive SMEs
- Accelerate investment readiness and develop investment strategies
- Focus on facilitating discussions that lead to commercial contracts
- Support collaborative Research & Development - where appropriate/applicable
- Agile sprints and technical focused sessions to develop technologies and meet challenge requirements
- Support the implementation of potential trials with programme partners
- Support development of Full Time Employees
Am I eligible for this competition?
- You must have a UK company address
- Preferably an innovative solution at TRL 5-7
- You must be able to address at least one of the challenge statements with your technology
- You must be willing to travel on occasion for face-to-face meetings (but most of the programme will be conducted virtually)
How to apply
The application deadline is
midnight, Sunday 30th April 2023
. Late submissions will not be considered.
Please read the following supporting documents carefully before submitting your application.
Competition and Application guidance documents
National Highways guidance documents
Delivered By:
Application Support Webinar
On the 11th April, we held an application support webinar with National Highways, which included an overview of the programme, challenges, guidance on the application process and live Q&A.
Point of contact
If you have any questions about the programme and application, please contact Agathe Parois, Accelerator Programme Manager -
agathe.parois@cp.catapult.org.uk
Equity & Diversity
Connected Places Catapult is collecting equity, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) data as part of the application process to promote and ensure equality of access for the Innovation Funding Grants it delivers. This data will help us monitor performance of efforts to promote ED&I in research and business innovation. All personal data will be processed in accordance with current UK data protection legislation, including the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).
