Electric road for Aylesbury in the UK

Researchers from the UK’s Lancaster University will design, fabricate and test systems that generate electricity using piezoelectricity and hydromechanical dynamics from passing vehicles. The electricity produced will be stored in roadside batteries to power street lamps, road signs and air pollution monitors in the town of Aylesbury. There will also be sensors that detect the formation of potholes, according to a statement from the university’s engineering department. In addition, the so-called smart
November 25, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

 Researchers from the UK’s Lancaster University will design, fabricate and test systems that generate electricity using piezoelectricity and hydromechanical dynamics from passing vehicles.

The electricity produced will be stored in roadside batteries to power street lamps, road signs and air pollution monitors in the town of Aylesbury. There will also be sensors that detect the formation of potholes, according to a statement from the university’s engineering department.

In addition, the so-called smart roads will generate data on vehicle speed, type of vehicle travelling along the road, as well as other information on traffic flow. This data will help the local highways authority to better manage traffic.

“We see this next generation energy harvesting of road surfaces as an important part of future smart cities,” said Mohamed Saafi, a professor at Lancaster University. Researchers will develop designs specific to road conditions in Aylesbury. Road designs will be tested using computer simulations to determine the optimum number and locations of energy harvesting sections before being constructed and installed in Buckinghamshire.

Leading Lancaster’s Live Lab project is Buckinghamshire County Council which has chosen a road section in Aylesbury Garden Town. Aylesbury was awarded Garden Town status by the UK government 2017, meaning it was recognised as key growth area, with just over 16,000 new homes planned. To accommodate development in the town, new transport links, infrastructure and facilities will be needed. A masterplan, including cycling and walking infrastructure, for Aylesbury will soon go to public consultation.

The project in Aylesbury, which has received around €5.3 million of funding from the SMART Places Live Labs Programme, is one of eight Live Labs projects.

The €26.75 million SMART programme is funded by the 5432 Department for Transport and is led by the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (3514 ADEPT). ADEPT was set up in 2010 and consists of directors from local governments at county, unitary and combined authority level as well as private and corporate business organisations.

Road Structures

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Are friends electric? – the drives
    October 3, 2018
    Advances in drive technology are being seen from several key firms as new generation, compact electric systems begin entering the market - Mike Woof writes Major innovations in machine systems are being seen in the construction equipment sector. Several manufacturers are hedging their bets with regard to drive technology and introducing electric drive machines, which will suit use in urban ultra-low emission zones. Wacker Neuson has developed an array of electric machines in recent years including a numbe
    Read More
  • Bluesky Aerial Mapping sees the trees and not the forest
    February 6, 2017
    Scientists at the University of Lancaster in England are using 3D data produced by Bluesky to refine a tree failure-risk model Pinpointing trees that might collapse onto roads and other infrastructure currently uses complex wind analysis techniques to assign a level of risk to individual trees. The data is Bluesky’s UK National Tree Map, laser mapped 3D height models, colour infrared (CIR) data and soil data. It will help identify individual trees and their proximity to roads as well as electricity insta
    Read More
  • A pothole damage breakthrough?
    April 11, 2013
    Academic research by two universities in the same UK city shows that patch repairs on potholes could be far more durable if a few simple techniques were consistently used. Guy Woodford reports. Repairing pothole damage to highways and vehicles across Europe costs responsible authorities and individual motorists hundreds of millions of euros each year. Yet it has cost just €20,204 to make the potentially crucial first step in identifying a method of keeping highways across the continent and beyond pothole fr
    Read More
  • World Road Meeting 2017
    April 16, 2018
    The IRF World Road Meeting 2017 was held recently – World Highways’ India correspondent Partha Pratim Basistha reports The 18th World Road Meeting of the International Road Federation took place between 14-17 November 2017 in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh at Greater Noida near India’s capital New Delhi. Close to 1500 delegates and visitors across the world - including India - from the road infrastructure fraternity participated at the global event. The Cross Roads meeting, coinciding with an ex
    Read More

Highlighted Content