Airports struggle to implement innovative solutions because testing and validation can be complex, difficult, expensive, and risky:
The Catapult has successfully run four cohorts of the Connected Airports Living Lab programme at Glasgow Airport and will soon be opening up the opportunity for new partners.
To be the first to hear about this opportunity when it goes live, sign up to our upcoming webinar where we will be joined by the Managing Director of Glasgow Airport, who will reflect on how the programme has supported them to enhance their operations with new, de-risked, innovative solutions.
Join our upcoming webinar: Inside Glasgow Airport’s Innovation Journey
Funded by Innovate UK, the Connected Airport Living Labs enables collaborative partnerships between Connected Places Catapult and UK airports, through which UK-based SMEs can test and demonstrate their late-stage innovative solution in a live airport environment.
Hello Lamp Post, which develops AI-enabled passenger assistance technology, was selected in both phases of our multi-phase programme across 23/24 and 25/26, which looked at how innovative technology could improve airport accessibility for deaf and neurodivergent travellers at Glasgow Airport.
. During the trial, use of the digital assistant led to:
This year, the product was developed further as a digital assistant for all passengers and staff, and has landed a multi-year contract with Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton airports.
“Establishing this service enabled access for all to a single source
of truth, readily accessible to both customers and staff, ensuring accurate
airport and airline information is delivered consistently to the right
person at the right time”Jamie Loudon – Group Head of Operational Solutions, AGS Airports
Interested in implementing a Living Lab at your airport to validate and
de-risk innovative technologies and solutions?
Contact our aviation team to book a discovery session: aviation@cp.catapult.org.uk
The objective of the Freight Innovation Fund is to support SMEs to trial, validate and scale technologies that address some of the most pressing challenges in the freight and logistics sector, ranging from decarbonisation and wastage to efficiency and upskilling of staff, while convening industry, government and innovators around shared challenges.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has dedicated £10m to the programme to support SMEs through the Accelerator Programme and Freight Innovation Cluster from 2023-2026.
“We know how crucial the freight industry is to keep Britain moving, and how important it is that transport is equipped to face modern-day challenges.
“Our funding will allow businesses to start trialling their revolutionary technology on our roads, ports and railways, meaning they can make an immediate difference and help grow the economy.”Aviation, Maritime and Decarbonisation Minister, Keir Mather
The Accelerator supports late-stage SMEs (around TRL 5–6) for 6 months, where they can access between £100,000-£150,000 in funding to trial their solutions in live freight environments with selected industry innovation partners.
Technologies trialled include lightweight trailers inspired by the aerodynamics of racing cars, sensors designed to improve the well-being of staff working at ports, and environmentally-friendly electric trailers, which can be pulled along by bikes.
The programme has strengthened industry understanding of how emerging technologies address real operational challenges in the transportation of goods and management of the supply chain. SMEs have reported clearer routes to market, commercial traction and follow‑on funding opportunities linked to accelerator trials.
Find out more about what to expect from the Accelerator programme through our previous open calls for cohort 3 and cohort 4.
Freight Innovation Fund Accelerator cohort four brochure
File type: pdf
File size: 30.16Mb
“The Freight Innovation Fund enabled us to work side by side with the teams at Associated British Ports and The Bristol Port Company to refine Athena with real feedback from the people running day-to-day operations.
“That experience helped us build a flexible workforce management platform that genuinely supports accurate planning, safe staffing and operational confidence for ports. Both partners have since moved to commercial contracts, and the platform’s success has already resulted in new partnerships with further UK operators and with major global operators overseas.”Cato Davies, Co-founder and CEO of Ensemble Analytics – a previous beneficiary of the Accelerator
Find out more about how the Freight Innovation Fund Accelerator is helping innovators transform the freight and logistics sector.
The Freight and Logistics Innovation Network (FLIN) brings the sector together to enable and accelerate innovation, tackling fragmentation and helping new solutions move faster from idea to adoption across modes in freight and logistics.
Through FLIN, organisations connect through targeted matchmaking, structured mentoring, shared insights, and practical routes to funding, pilots, and commercial partnerships that turn collaboration into delivery.
FLIN is open to SMEs, larger operators, technology providers, academia, investors, and public sector bodies who want to collaborate, shape the future of freight, and scale innovation with the right partners.
For more information about the Freight Innovation Fund, contact freightinnovationfund@cp.catapult.org.uk
