Carbon-negative aggregate tested on UK motorway
The aggregate is being trialled on a stretch of the M11 in Essex.
The construction material was promoted through a National Highways competition to fund projects that help meet net-zero carbon in maintenance and construction.
Four firms have received up to £80k each, including Low Carbon Materials in Seaham. Its ACLA aggregate is being trialled on a National Highways' road for the first time.
Specifically, the northbound carriageway of the M11 in Essex with the support of Skanska and Tarmac.
The aggregate has been incorporated into essential resurfacing and maintenance work between junctions seven and eight so it can be subject to real-world heavy traffic levels.
A test strip of asphalt concrete binder course containing the product has been laid alongside a control strip of conventional aggregate.
The three other winners from the competition were:
- PRG (Scotland) Limited in Hamilton to produce a bitumen-like substance from waste tyres for road construction and repairs.
- Circular11 Ltd in Dorset to provide a highly durable, maintenance-free fencing material that turns mixed low-grade plastic into low-carbon infrastructure, and which will be collected and recycled at end-of-life.
- Asset International Structures in Cwmbran to develop smart-fibre-reinforced polymer bridge beams that incorporate a novel optical fibre, enabling structural performance monitoring in real time and over long term.
