Future Mobility

Project dates: 2020 to 2022

This project, funded by the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), received £2.4m from the Government’s £30m 5G Create competition. It produced last mile delivery for an autonomous HGV up to 40 tonnes on a private road. The project aimed to improve productivity and efficiency while developing a unique centre of excellence and operational test facility for CAL. The 5G-connected trucks were piloted in distributing parts and assemblies across the Nissan Sunderland plant, linking to many local SMEs in the supply chain. 5G was essential as it enabled the removal of the safety driver from the process, allowing remote teleoperations to overcome abnormal situations.

Project dates: 2023 to 2025

The V-CAL project, based in Sunderland, was awarded £4 million from the government’s Commercialising Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM) competition. This was provided through the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) and Innovate UK. V-CAL built on the research from the 5G CAL project mentioned above. We produced a working proof-of-concept (PoC) demonstration of the autonomous and teleoperation of a 40-tonne truck. Live loads were delivered from Vantec to Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK (NMUK) fully autonomously without intervention by a safety driver.

Project dates: 2025 to 2026

P-CAL (Port-Connected and Automated Logistics) is a pioneering project funded by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) and Innovate UK. It aims to demonstrate autonomous container transport at the Port of Tyne. Building on the success of the 5G CAL and V-CAL initiatives, P-CAL represents a major step forward in connected and automated logistics for UK ports. We are deploying a fully autonomous terminal tractor and secure mesh communication network to move containers between the dockside and the container compound. Operating within a complex and high-traffic quayside environment, the project tackles real-time coordination with cranes, seamless integration with Terminal Operating Systems and robust cybersecurity to enable safe, remote operations.

Project dates: 2023 to 2025

The Sunderland Advanced Mobility Shuttle project funded by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) and Innovate UK. The project tested a self-driving, emissions-free shuttle. This shuttle ferries passengers between several sites in Sunderland, all on public roads. Although safety operators accompany each ride, the project aims to establish and showcase a secure remote supervision protocol, paving the way for future commercial use.

Project dates: 2023 to 2024

This project studied the feasibility of delivering a zero emission CAM system on a purpose-built route between Seaton Delaval Station and Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital (NSECH) in Cramlington.

We are testing a number of different concepts that may support the RAF's Net Zero 2040 goals, while also enabling the Station to be Net Zero by 2025. The project aims to create a living laboratory for the RAF and MOD to investigate new and emerging technologies for tackling climate change and sustainability. It includes the implementation of integrated solar technology, increasing the use of electric vehicles by providing charging points on the Station. It also aims to reduce carbon through measures such as moss walls and soil carbon capture.

Project dates: 2021 to 2025

The Zero Emission Hydrogen demonstration in Airport Applications project demonstrated a range of hydrogen-fuelled airside vehicles at both Teesside International Airport and Royal Air Force (RAF) Leeming. Motive fuels redeployed an electrolyser and publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling station, while Newcastle University captured and analysed the data.

The National Research Hub for Decarbonised, Adaptable and Resilient Transport Infrastructures (DARe) is funded by EPSRC & DfT. This hub was launched to create new measures to decarbonise and improve transport, as the UK moves towards a resilient, net-zero transport system by 2050.

Project dates: 2019 to 2024

The RSSB Digital Environment for Intelligent Decarbonisation project used collaborative simulation approaches to explore different operational behaviours and technology configurations for rail decarbonisation. This led to the Network Rail-funded Predicting Performance through Co-Simulation (PrePCo) project, which coupled collaborative simulation to a novel performance metric (Time Signal at Red). This identified ways to model escalating rail system delay.

This network for Hydrogen-fuelled transportation is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) as part of the Decarbonisation of transport programme. The network aims to bring together cross-disciplinary research aimed at developing a "hydrogen" for transport economy. It aims to ensure engagement and knowledge transfer across all modes of transport and hydrogen energy including:

• technology
• socio-economics
• behavioural science
• policy

Novel materials such as synthetic-composites are already in use as railway sleepers across Europe. They are a sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to timber sleepers and bearers. They also provide a solution to help mitigate the upcoming European ban on the use of creosote as a timber preservative. But so far the application of synthetic-composite sleepers has generally been limited to specific pilot sites and to tracks applications with low speeds and tonnage. In response to the sustainability challenges, there have been significant advances in:

• the carbon footprint of existing sleeper materials
• novel materials used in other sectors that may be suitable for use as sleepers

(Data-based analysis for SAFETY and security protection FOR detection, prevention, mitigation and response in trans-modal metro and RAILway networkS)

We are increasing the safety and recovery of track-based inter-city railway and intra-city metro transportation. The project addresses cyber and physical attacks and combined cyber-physical attacks. These are important emerging scenarios, given the increasing IoT infrastructure integration. Using a holistic approach, we will:

• analyse the cyber-physical resilience of metro and railway systems
• deliver mitigation strategies for an efficient dynamic response

Project dates: 2015 to 2019

LC TRANSFORMS explored how urban fleets in the UK and China can transition to low and zero carbon operations. The project focussed on identifying risks, developing optimisation methods, and creating demand models to analyse goods and travel services. The project:

• designed tools to measure short-term demand flexibility
• built a framework to assess service, environmental and economic performance
• examined business models linked to fleet electrification and demand flexibility.

It also highlighted the role of intelligent infrastructure. We produced roadmaps to help metropolitan areas scale up low-carbon fleet operations and meet local CO₂ reduction targets.

Project dates: 2022 to 2026

The Internet of Energy (IoE) is a paradigm towards achieving a "zero-carbon" society. It aims to optimise electrical energy usage, especially for emerging loads such as Electric Vehicles. Integrating the Internet of Things with energy sources and demand loads enables real-time processing of data streams to support actionable decision-making. The aim of this centre-to-centre collaboration is to conduct multi-disciplinary research in the cyber resilience of future IoE systems. As electric vehicles are likely to make the greatest use of battery capacity in the future, they will play a key role in IoE infrastructures.

Learn more about this project on the Invest North East England website

Project dates: 2016 to 2024

The Centre for Energy Systems Integration (CESI) aim is to reduce the risks associated with securing an integrated energy system for the UK. CESI is a unique partnership of six research intensive universities and strategic industrial partner Siemens.

Learn more about CESI on our dedicated CESI site