Articles & Blogs

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Meet the Academic making highways stronger for longer

Reducing the carbon footprint and cost of road maintenance are the aims of research into materials science and digital technologies by Dr Anand Sreeram of the University of Nottingham.

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Unlocking place-based innovation through trusted data sharing

Connected Places Catapult is proud to share the insights and outcomes from its recent Data Sharing and Innovation roundtable, held in the Palace of Westminster.

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Meet the innovator using AI to speed-up road incident response times

Michael Vardi has developed intelligent traffic sensing software that can alert highway authorities to accidents and safety concerns instantly.

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Airfield survey specialists trial systems at Glasgow Airport

Four emerging technology companies have demonstrated new approaches to airport pavement inspection through the Connected Airport Living Lab programme.

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Drone tech investor speaks up for honest feedback

Venture capitalist firm PiLabs’ partner Hugo Silva talks about his financial backing of Sorair Technologies and its founder Kunmi Oludoyi.

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Green construction plans charge ahead for Lower Thames Crossing

England’s largest highway construction scheme for a generation – the Lower Thames Crossing – will be built using low carbon vehicles and plant. How best to keep machines charged on multiple sites was explored at a Catapult convened event in June.

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Meet the academic powering change in the energy sector

West Midlands based researcher Dr Weiqi Hua is working with the Diatomic programme between the UK and South Korea to develop advanced digital systems to encourage the transition to cleaner energy.

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Birmingham accelerator leads software firm to contract win

Listening carefully to customers’ wants and tailoring a product suited to their needs helped software firm Novoville secure a major contract in the West Midlands.

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Meet the innovator promoting reuse in the built environment

One ambitious construction professional’s “belief in a better way” has led her to create a material reuse platform to reduce building waste and promote the circular economy.

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Tech trio celebrate advances for women in engineering

To mark International Women in Engineering Day this week, we speak to three technology founders involved in the HS2 Accelerator about their experiences, challenges and future hopes around making construction more inclusive.

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Geospatial data improves driverless car testing

Autonomous vehicle testing promises to become more focused and less costly with the use of a new geospatial database, featuring details of complex highway junctions .

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Highways tech investor says teamwork is key to standing out

Recognising the value of the people you are investing in matters just as much as the technology on offer, according to one venture capital firm.

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Projects and people celebrated in annual transport programme awards

Recipients of the Chief Scientific Adviser awards were honoured at a Transport Research and Innovation Grants (TRIG) showcase in Leeds.

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Transport innovators urged to better consider accessibility in their designs

Leading lights from recent cohorts of the Transport Research & Innovation Grants programme gathered in Leeds for a showcase event, which included a keynote address from accessibility champion James Lee.

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Spending Review 2025: Connected Places Catapult response

In recent weeks there have been a flurry of announcements leading up to last week’s Spending Review. We are also expecting announcements that will build on these plans, such as the 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy and the Industrial Strategy 2035.

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Inaugural Heritage Investment Prospectus launched with Catapult support

Historic England unveiled its first Heritage Investment Prospectus in the Connected Places Catapult pavilion at UKREiiF.