Innovia has been working with The Ray as it develops a proving ground, on interstate 85 (I-85) in Georgia, for the evolving ideas and technologies that will transform the transportation infrastructure of the future.

DEFINING THE STRATEGY

The Ray has a bold mission to create the world’s first zero-impact highway. That means zero deaths, pollution, carbon, and environmental impact. As with all stretch targets, it’s hard to know where to start. Is the target even possible? What will success look like? What’s our place in this future? How can we help to make it happen?

We started by envisaging what a zero-impact highway might look like. We saw two broad alternatives – one in which the road is smart and full of technology. And another in which the technology embedded in vehicles enables huge savings in physical infrastructure.

In the early stages, innovators often find themselves with a wealth of potential opportunities, but it can be hard to know where to start.
The Ray had a long list of potential initiatives to make highways more sustainable, from bioswales and wildlife bridges, to electric vehicle (EV) charging and rubberised asphalt. But it could not support them all. Of each potential opportunity we asked three questions:

• Is it really sustainable? How much positive impact can it have?
• How likely is it to work, both technically and commercially?
• Can The Ray help to make it happen?

This last question was crucial. Many big players are investing heavily in the future of sustainable transportation, but what areas could benefit from The Ray’s capabilities and support?

MAKING IT HAPPEN

The result – a clear roadmap from 2015–2020, laying out where The Ray could make a difference and how. You can download our full report here. Roadside solar was one key recommendation. The Ray made it happen:

Another recommendation was an unexpected piece of ‘low-hanging fruit’ – drive-over tyre-pressure monitoring. Underinflated tyres increase fuel consumption, reduce tyre life and cause accidents. The Ray installed WheelRight’s drive-over tyre-pressure monitoring station on the I-85, to enable drivers to quickly and easily check their tyre pressures:

PARTNERS IN INNOVATION

We continue to stand with The Ray as close partners on its innovation journey, helping it to assess technology, identify and prioritise new opportunities, and build effective partnerships.

Together, we’ve made some tough decisions to turn away from some things that initially sounded promising. A technology to capture energy from slowing vehicles turned out not to be practical. And we thought in detail about solar noise barriers (here). Whilst they are an excellent technology, we felt The Ray couldn’t help much right now, in part because of the lack of a suitably noisy demonstration site on I-85. So often in innovation, the decisions on what not to do are as important as the decisions on what to do.

What’s next? We’re currently working on a roadmap for 2020–2025 and beyond. Watch this space!