Connected Places Catapult, the UK’s innovation agency for transport, construction and data infrastructure, has today announced the opening of applications for the Diesel-Free Sites Adoption Programme. The programme is delivered by Connected Places Catapult in partnership with Costain and Anglian Water and is funded by Innovate UK. 

Across the infrastructure sector, organisations are working to reduce emissions, improve site performance and accelerate the transition away from diesel. While alternative power sources, electric plant and sustainable fuels are becoming increasingly available, many solutions still struggle to move beyond individual projects because clients need stronger evidence that they can perform reliably in real-world conditions. This programme has been developed to help bridge that gap by generating practical evidence from live infrastructure environments and supporting wider industry adoption.  

Up to four successful applicants will receive up to £60,000 each to trial their solution over a four-month period. The programme will give them access to live infrastructure sites, working alongside Anglian Water and Costain through the Strategic Pipeline Alliance.  They will also benefit from engagement with industry experts and tailored business support from specialists at the Catapult. This will support them to build a credible evidence base that can enable the future procurement of their solutions by infrastructure clients and the commercial growth of their businesses. The programme is open to UK registered small-to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with proven deployment-ready solutions that address one or more of the challenge areas. 

"The challenge is not a lack of innovation. Proven diesel-free solutions already exist. The challenge is creating the evidence and confidence needed for wider adoption. By working directly with industry partners in a live infrastructure environment, this programme will help high-potential UK businesses demonstrate real world performance and support the transition from successful trials to adoption at scale, across the sector." 

Geoff Stevens, Director of Built Environment, Connected Places Catapult  

“Decarbonising the UK’s infrastructure system is essential to stabilising the climate, strengthening economic and environmental resilience, and enabling communities, nature and the economy to thrive. Scaling-up diesel free sites is therefore a critical enabler of making decarbonisation a reality. 

By opening up access to our Strategic Pipeline Alliance site with Anglian Water, UK SMEs will gain valuable experience in a real-world infrastructure environment to help them develop innovative, viable and safe solutions to help accelerate the transition away from diesel fuel.”  

Rob Cairns, Head of Innovation at Costain 

“This programme is a great example of innovation being used to solve a real delivery challenge. At Anglian Water, we have set ambitious goals to reach zero fossil fuel construction by 2030 and zero emission construction by 2035, and achieving them will depend on working with partners to test, prove and adopt new solutions at pace.

By supporting SMEs to demonstrate diesel-free technologies in live construction environments, we can build the evidence and confidence needed to accelerate low-carbon construction across the sector, reflecting our Always Exploring mindset and commitment to finding better ways to deliver for our customers and the environment.” 

Phil Buckingham, Head of Research & Innovation, Anglian Water

Applications open on 30 July 2026 and close at 12pm on 7 September 2026. Businesses interested in taking part can find out more and submit an application via the Diesel-Free Sites Adoption Programme webpage. An application support webinar will also take place on 11 August 2026.