The £30m ADEPT Live Labs 2 programme has celebrated its first year with a live Expo setting out its achievements.
Live Labs 2: Decarbonising Local Roads is a UK-wide programme funded by the Department for Transport (DfT) and designed to tackle decarbonisation.
The Live Labs 2 Expo 24, held in Birmingham, brought together the key partners, researchers, stakeholders and project leaders, 200 people attending.
Rupert Furness (pictured), DfT's deputy director of local highways and active travel road transport group, dismissed suggestions that the decarbonisation agenda is taking a back seat.
Its profile within the department is ‘definitely as high as it has ever been’, he said.
Neil Gibson, chair of the Live Labs 2 Commissioning Board and a past president of ADEPT, said: ‘The Live Labs 2 Expo was an incredible success and a real wow moment for all of us involved, as we saw the results and research achieved in just one year.
‘It was an important opportunity for everyone involved to meet, check in and learn about the development of each project so far to discover the innovations and materials we need to deploy to succeed with the objectives of Live Labs 2.'
Live Labs 2 is scheduled to run until 2026 and includes seven projects, grouped by four interconnected themes. Each project is led by local authorities, working alongside commercial and academic partners.
A Live Labs 2 ‘mini Expo’ for those unable to attend this week will take place online on 14 May.
