UK Infrastructure Transitions Research Consortium

What is the UK Infrastructure Transitions Research Consortium activity?

This is an interdisciplinary research programme on the long term dynamics of interdependent infrastructure systems - including energy, transport, water, waste, information and communications.

There is an urgent need to reduce carbon emissions from infrastructure, to respond to future demographic, social and lifestyle changes and to build resilience to intensifying impacts of climate change.

The Infrastructure Transitions Research Consortium will deliver the theoretical research, models and practical decision support tools to enable strategic analysis and planning of a national infrastructure system fit for the 21st century.

The consortium is one of the 14 projects under the ARCC programme.

Read our story about the Consortium on the LWEC website.

And download the project newsletter below.

What will the consortium do?

The aim is to develop and demonstrate a new generation of models to look at the performance, risk and interdependence of infrastructure systems in order to inform analysis, planning and design of infrastructure. This will be followed by using the models to test out different strategies for national infrastructure and see how different strategies perform with regards to reliabilty and security of supply, cost, carbon emissions and how they would respond to future changes in demographics and to environmental change.

Professor Jim Hall says 'If we dont get this right then the impacts will be both acute and chronic. We could see systemic failure due to weather-related disruption for example and we could also see long term deterioration in the quality of service provision.'

Government and industry collaboration

In order to acheive maximum impact, the consortium has set up links with government agencies and industry bodies who are the main beneficiaries and who will also help to support the research, promote the findings and make sure that recommendations are taken up. These include: 

• Department of Food and Rural Affairs, Department for Transport, Department of Communities and Local Government, Department for Eneregy and Climate Change, Cabinet Office, Infrastructure UK, Environment Agency, Highways Agency, Transport Scotland, CABE, Association of North East Councils, Hampshire County Council, Local Government Association and the Town and Country Planning Association
• Scottish and Southern Energy, E.ON, BP, National Grid, Network Rail, United Utilies, Yorkshire Water, Northumbrian Water, Veolia and BT
• Engineering companies and consultants: AEA Technology, Arup, Atkins, Black and Veatch, Halcrow, JBA, Mott MacDonald, MWH, Royal Haskoning, Parsons Brinckerhoff and Swanbarton
• Bam Nuttal, Costain
• Willis insurers
• Ordance Survey, Met Office, UK water Industry Research
• Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Institution of Engineering and Technology

Who will benefit?

Policy makers

Government departments and agencies involved in infrastructure planning, regulation and provision will benefit from the new methods of analysis that will provide better understanding of infrastructure in England, Scotland and Wales in the long term.

Business:Infrastructure owners and utility companies will benefit from tools for analysis of capacity, demand and risk which can be used to plan investment and asset management

Engineers and consultants will benefit from improved models to inform their services in the UK and internationally. These models could be commercially exploited. 

Society: Consumers of infrastructure services will benefit from more efficient national infrastructure. 

PROGRAMME FACTS AND FIGURES

Start and end dates: Jan 2011 to Dec 2015

Other organisations involved: 

Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research

UK Energy Research Centre

Main challenge: 

Infrastructure

Website: http://www.itrc.org.uk/

Contact:

Director - Professor Jim Hall on jim.hall@ncl.ac.uk

Knowledge exchange - Dr Roger Street: roger.street@ukcip@org.uk

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