The following four inter-linked 'net zero enablers' will form the focus of the FIBE3 CDT's training and research activities:
- Existing and disruptive/new technologies. A mix of existing and new technologies will be required to drive delivery of net zero infrastructure as advances e.g. in carbon capture and storage (CCS) and emissions-free energy will not be available in time. Major advances using existing technologies e.g. in off-shore wind and geothermal energy, low carbon construction materials and evidence-based sensing technologies, are waiting for targeted implementation. Rethinking and innovating the way we design, construct and maintain our infrastructure is a further imperative.
- Radical circularity and whole life approach. Circularity will require a focus on resource efficiency, minimising waste, using low carbon materials, and keeping materials, products and assets in use for as long as possible. It will also necessitate a whole-life carbon approach to infrastructure and requires research on sustainability and resilience.
- AI-driven digitalisation and data. Our civil infrastructure industry is not well equipped to deal with 'big data'. There is an urgent need to develop tools e.g. machine learning approaches to extract meaningful and actionable information from the unprecedented increase in data. Advanced Digital Twins will enable modelling of ‘what if’ future low carbon infrastructure scenarios and consequences and provide evidence-based decision support for action. Focus on data will include data generation, integration, interrogation, reliability and sharing.
- Risk-based systems thinking and connectivity. Infrastructure is a system of inter-connected systems, and its transformation is constrained by the slow deployment rates of large-scale public works and competition for constrained resources. Working with users, we will explore risk-based analysis of infrastructure design and resilience both to anticipate delivery risks and to anticipate business growth opportunities compatible with zero emissions.