Live Labs 2 Expo 2025 showcases progress in UK highways decarbonisation
As it passes the halfway mark, the ADEPT Live Labs 2: Decarbonising Local Roads programme this week marked another successful milestone with its second Expo.
Held at Liverpool Hilton on 25th March, the event highlighted the programme's achievements in helping to accelerate local highways towards a net zero future.
ADEPT Live Labs 2: Decarbonising Local Roads in the UK is a three-year, UK-wide £30 million programme funded by the Department for Transport that aims to decarbonise the local highway network. Seven projects, grouped by four interconnected themes, are being led by local authorities working alongside commercial and academic partners.
Featuring a more dynamic and fluid structure than last year’s event and including smaller, impactful discussion groups, the Expo brought together the seven Live Labs 2 projects from across the country alongside key partners, researchers and stakeholders to discuss the programme's developments and goals for year three.
The Expo showcased the seven projects, led by local authorities and supported by private sector partners, each focusing on different solutions to reduce carbon emissions in local highways. Attendees had the opportunity to engage in 'Live Labs Learn Ins', rotating sessions where project teams presented their progress, ideas and aspirations for the next stages of the initiatives.
This year’s Expo attracted over 200 attendees, offering a full day of insightful presentations, interactive sessions, networking and two hotly contested pitching sessions by SMEs in the style of ‘Dragons’ Den’.
A panel of sector specialists and decision makers heard innovative presentations from small to medium sized organisations working across the decarbonisation of highways. The ‘Dragons’ included Rupert Furness, Deputy Director, Local Highways and Active Travel & Professor Sarah Sharples, Chief Scientific Adviser both from the Department for Transport. Angela Halliwell, Head of Carbon & Air Quality Group at National Highways and Mike Batheram, Market Director for Local Transport from Atkins Réalis. Highly commended was awarded to Carbon IQ Carbon Management Systems and the panel awarded joint first place to both Solar Lite Road Studs and Circular 11.
It also featured keynote addresses by Cllr Robinson, Leader of Liverpool City Council and Lord Patrick McLoughlin, Chair of Transport for the North, and a plenary session on the role of behaviour change in decarbonising the UK's local roads, led by Lauren Leak-Smith from the Behavioural Insights Team.
Reflecting on the panel events and speeches, Giles Perkins, Programme Director of Live Labs 2 said: “The Live Labs 2 Expo 2025 was another fantastic success, reflecting the dedication and innovation of all the teams and partner organisations involved. It provided us all with an invaluable platform for sharing knowledge and fostering the collaborations essential for achieving decarbonisation goals."
Neil Gibson, Chair of the Live Labs 2 Commissioning Board, said: “March is a significant month for Live Labs 2 with our second Expo and publication of the projects’ carbon baselines. This is the start of a process by which our Live Lab projects will evidence the carbon effectiveness of their interventions, as well as starting a conversation across the sector on how we address the fundamental challenges that hinder progress.
“We also recently published our work on organisational behaviour. This explores some of the upstream and downstream change that is necessary to embed asset-based decarbonisation across all activities in the local roads industry.”
An additional Mini Expo online has been planned for the 30th of April. This virtual event will offer those unable to attend, or wishing to extend the Live Labs 2 conversations, an opportunity to hear the latest updates on the Live Labs 2 projects and be part of the growing conversation on the decarbonisation of highways.
The Live Labs 2 Mini Expo will take place online on 30th of April 10:00-12:00: for more information and to book your place, visit www.adeptnet.org.uk/events/livelabs2-mini-expo2025
For more information on the ADEPT Live Labs 2 programme, visit www.adeptnet.org.uk/livelabs2
