The Leicester based company has developed road repair technology which uses up to 80% recycled material mixed with other materials like cement and bitumen. The capital grant funding, to be given in stages, will finance an expansion in production to commercial levels.
Following laboratory trials, Power Plane believes it can reduce the settling time for its material from days to hours, reducing the time needed for road repairs. Additionally, by leaving cement out of the mix, the company has found that the material can be laid cold and can be used for up to a month after it has been mixed.
Power Plane managing director Ian Chattington said: “We are confident that we now have a cost effective recycled alternative for base and binder course materials. Using this technology, we can show councils and contractors that road repairs can be carried out in a much shorter time, with no loss of performance, while at the same time demonstrating a more sustainable approach to resource use.”
The grant is to be split into two main stages. Power Plane will initially invest in new equipment including a Wirtgen KMA 200 Foamed Bitumen Plane and a purpose designed cement silo. The equipment will be totally mobile and can be taken to where the road repairs are needed.
The second stage is funding trials to test the recycled material's effectiveness in real settings before it is produced on a commercial scale. The trials involve work with Staffordshire county council and Wolverhampton metropolitan council.
Mr Chattington added: “We are very encouraged by the initial trials and fully expect to apply the process on a significant scale in the near future. Power Plane is also already exploring the potential use of the recycled material in sectors other than road construction and repair.”
By 2004, WRAP aims to increase the production of recycled and secondary aggregates by 2 million tonnes a year. WRAP's aggregates programme for England is funded through the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund. This funding, similar to the Landfill Tax, comes from the government's aggregate levy on quarrying in the UK and is aimed at helping communities affected by aggregate extraction and finding alternative sources for materials.
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