Scottish council launches SME testbed for low-carbon road materials

North Lanarkshire Council has launched a new initiative to help small businesses overcome barriers to deploying low-carbon road materials across the UK.

The council, working with contractor Amey and technology partner Safetytech Accelerator, has created the Barriers to Decarbonising Roads Sandbox (BDRS) as part of the ADEPT Live Labs 2 programme. The sandbox forms part of the Centre of Excellence for Decarbonising Roads, one of four national themes under Live Labs 2.

Funded by the Department for Transport, the £30m, three-year Live Labs 2 programme is aimed at accelerating carbon reduction across local roads. Seven projects, grouped under four themes, are being led by councils with support from industry and academia.

The Centre of Excellence is split across two campuses: North Lanarkshire Council leads the north campus with Amey, while Transport for West Midlands and Colas head the south campus.

The sandbox will allow eight small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to trial low-carbon road products in a safe and controlled environment, Amey said in a statement today (12 June).

The companies – PRG, Sima, Green Carbon Industries, Uberbinder, Biozeroc, DMAT, C-Twelve and Ecopals – will benefit from expert mentoring, workshops and direct contact with public sector clients. Their products will be assessed for performance, cost-effectiveness, scalability and environmental impact.

The initiative aims to accelerate adoption of sustainable materials by addressing practical and regulatory barriers. Safetytech Accelerator is delivery partner for the sandbox, with input from Transport Scotland and National Highways.

North Lanarkshire Council asset services manager Scott Walker said the programme would help demonstrate the quality and effectiveness of new road materials. Amey highways director Kyle Clough added that the sandbox would create a “safe environment” for testing solutions and supporting SMEs in scaling up.

The Centre of Excellence has already trialled several carbon-reducing materials and will share knowledge nationally through a virtual hub. As part of its role, the Centre will evaluate live trials, disseminate learnings and build a database of proven solutions.

Safetytech Accelerator principal consultant Seb Corby said that despite a strong pipeline of materials, many SMEs struggled to break into the UK highways market due to regulatory uncertainty and lack of trial opportunities.

Live Labs 2 is run by the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport (ADEPT) and will continue until March 2026. It is followed by a five-year monitoring phase. Other organisations involved in the programme include AtkinsRealis, National Highways, Innovate UK, the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland, WSP and the Open Data Institute.

Amey is also supporting a separate ADEPT Live Labs 2 project with South Gloucestershire and West Sussex councils to examine how ‘green’ highway assets, such as biomass from verge clippings, can be used as alternative fuels and materials.