Small businesses based at Keele University will soon be helping to innovate the UK's approach to transport, following a successful bid by a County Council-led partnership.
Keele University is set to become the home of the SIMULATE (Smart, Infrastructure and Mobility Urban Laboratory and Test Environment) 'live lab' project, a scheme that will develop, test and demonstrate how a smart highway can be designed, maintained and integrated into roads across the United Kingdom.
The joint bid to ADEPT (the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport) for SMART Place Live Labs funding (a fund put forward by the Department for Transport) was one of only seven successful bids, from 28 submissions, and will mean £1.975million being allocated.
The project will include Keele University, the county council’s highways partner Amey, and industry specialist Connected Catapult, bringing in innovative SMEs to deliver the scheme. The selected companies will be delivering innovative solutions to sustainable mobility and improving air quality – trialling new methods with the aim of them being adopted into the local and strategic road network.
Keele University’s campus, which already has all of the elements of a small town, with roads, residences, leisure centres and green spaces, will act as a ‘living laboratory’ to find new ways to keep people on the move in a more sustainable way. The site currently includes round 3,100 residential students, 1,000 employees on the Science and Innovation Park, 200 ‘standard’ domestic households and academic activities serving 10,000 students.
Not only will the project provide credible research to the county (and the rest of the country), it will also benefit students at the university – who will be utilising the facility to support their studies.
The project will see a Smart Infrastructure Network developed on the roads throughout the campus, with a control centre set up to create the ‘live lab’. It will develop and test new technology to reduce congestion and road incidents, increase road user-experience, and improve both sustainable transport and air quality.
The Keele campus, which replicates a ‘small town’, has already been selected for a smart energy network demonstrator – a research and development project to discover how new technologies can be used in the energy sector to improve efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and drive down costs.
Both schemes have strengthened the ‘New Keele Deal’ between the university, Staffordshire County Council and other strategic partners (which started in 2016) – the New Keele Deal is a strategic approach that looks to make the most of is the university’s academic and innovative strengths to improve the local economy, help job creation and community health.
Businesses have until the 23rd March 2020 to submit their ideas – those that are selected will then take part in a Dragon’s Den style event. Successful entrants will be awarded with a bespoke six-month incubation programme to develop their solution, with product development and technical mentorship.
Check out the SIMULATE Live Lab website for further information
Successful businesses will then have the opportunity to secure funding for live trials within the programme.
SIMULATE’s four mobility challenges are centered round tackling sustainable transport problems within a rural county, including:
1. Clean Community - connecting communities with quick and carbon neutral mobility options
2. Dynamic Connections - providing a service that connects both urban and rural properties with critical amenities
3. Rapid Transit – delivering a rapid point-to-point solution that takes into consideration volume of users at different times throughout the day
4. Integration and Behavioural Change – seeking solutions to address the shift in attitudes and behaviours that is needed when moving from single use and private vehicles to a different mobility model
Running alongside these challenges, SIMULATE is also looking for solutions that can be deployed to tackle air pollution in areas with poor quality in Staffordshire.
Staffordshire County Council’s Highways and Transport Leader, Helen Fisher commented:
“The SIMULATE project is exciting not just for Staffordshire but for transport innovation and community improvement nationwide.
“We have a strong working relationship with Keele University through our deal and with Amey as our highways delivery partner. Innovative solutions can improve efficiency both for highways managers and residents, drive down costs and improve air quality leading to better health.
“It is fantastic to be able to use the ‘small town’ that exists as part of the university campus to create the living laboratory whilst at the same time benefiting local small business and students’ research.
“We look forward to discovering how new technologies can be used and how they complement each other to improve community highways and road users’ experiences and their health.”
Sunita Dulai, Head of Business Development at Amey, added:
“SIMULATE is a fantastic programme that is giving SMEs the opportunity to showcase and further develop their innovative solutions to the mobility challenges that have been identified in Staffordshire. Working in collaboration with the SIMULATE partners and SMEs will enable us to tackle the connectivity and environmental challenges the industry and our communities are facing.”
Mark Ormerod, Keele University Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost, said:
“Keele University is delighted to part of the Staffordshire SIMULATE project, which will make full use of both our academic expertise and our unique campus environment.
“The project will build on our existing ‘living laboratory’ projects, such as our landmark Smart Energy Network Demonstrator, which are transforming the UK’s largest single-site campus into the perfect location to develop, test and demonstrate the latest smart and sustainable technologies.”