£46m for new UK transport decarbonisation hub

The TransiT Hub, a collaboration of eight universities and 67 partners jointly led by Heriot-Watt University and Glasgow University, has secured £20m in funding from the UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

Another £26m is being provided by stakeholders across the digital, energy and transport sectors, including transport operators, regulators, vehicle makers, technology companies and energy suppliers. The collaboration is thought to be one of the largest transport consortiums of its kind.

The eight universities in the TransiT hub are each centres of expertise in core project areas, including: Heriot-Watt, focused on logistics and freight; Glasgow University, digital twinning and cyber physical systems; Leeds University, transport decarbonisation policy development; Birmingham University, rail research; Cranfield University, aviation; UCL, maritime research; Cambridge University, road freight; and Durham university, focused on the engineering of public transport.

With the combined expertise of all these institutions, TransiT aims to identify the lowest cost, least risky and most energy-efficient way to decarbonise transport by developing a digital twinning approach.