With Britain’s pothole epidemic making headlines again for all the wrong reasons, can a new approach to laying tarmac offer a solution?
Carbon Crusher Inc., an American and Norwegian ‘road-tech’ startup, believes it can reduce the build and maintenance cost of new and existing streets, and significantly reduce environmental impact.
The idea for the Carbon Rover was inspired by in-situ principles and the same innovations scientists are developing for use on Mars and the Moon. Crucially, the machine is capable of demolishing, milling, transporting, mixing and stabilising road surfaces in one integrate system, recycling the existing tarmac in one pass of the area, then producing a stronger base to be re-applied.
The replacement surface can be finished in record time, is four times stronger than the traditional alternative, and the new material can sequester up to 500 tons of carbon dioxide equivalents per mile.
This introduces the potential for the world’s 40million miles of highways, byways and back streets to become a vast carbon sink. According to Carbon Crusher, six rovers working at 50% capacity could remove 1million tons of CO2e in just two years of operation.
‘Quality and cost come first,’ said Haakon Brunell, Co-founder and CEO. ‘We build stronger, longer-lasting roads at a lower price – that’s what matters most for our customers. The Rover makes that possible globally with a step change in efficiency, and turns every mile into a climate win.’
‘Our vision was to build something that could perform under any conditions,’ added COO and Co-founder Hans Arne Flåto. ‘A road-refurbishment machine that doesn’t just patch problems, but regenerates them – making roads stronger, longer-lasting, and improving them faster and cleaner than ever before.’
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