The overall aim of the research project ANNA (“Application of Sustainable Asphalt”) is to identify substitutes for virgin bitumen and thus formulate new asphalt alternatives and further develop the concept of sustainable asphalt road construction. Sustainable binders are being developed and tested that are made exclusively from reclaimed asphalt and sustainable additives from renewable raw materials and are capable of replacing conventional asphalt binders on an equivalent basis. Equivalent in this context means - in addition to all the usual material technology aspects - in particular reusability, ageing resistance and durability as well as sustainability in terms of emissions and resource availability.
Suitable additives made from renewable raw materials will be identified and tested as part of a comprehensive laboratory program. During the three-year project period, promising sustainable alternatives will be identified, used in asphalt concepts, tested on asphalt roads on a large scale and validated, for example through load tests.
The specific objective of the consortium is: “Development and testing of sustainable and climate-friendly substitutes for bitumen in asphalt road construction”.
The research project is closely linked to the “NOBIT” project funded by the Volkswagen Foundation.
Road innovation program of BASt and BMVI
Funding Call “Alternative binders or additives for sustainable road construction”
Funding body: Federal Highway and Transport Research Institute (BASt)
Title: Application of sustainable asphalt
Acronym: ANNA
Duration: 36 months (February 01, 2025 - January 31, 2028)
Project leader: Braunschweig Pavement Engineering Centre (ISBS)
Project partner: VINCI Construction Shared Services GmbH (Eurovia)
Work Packages
- WP 1: Project organization and project management
- WP 2: Material selection, material procurement and material characterization
- WP 3: Binder testing
- WP 4: Mix design and asphalt production in the laboratory
- WP 5: Testing of asphalt performance
- WP 6: Large-scale mixture production and construction of test sections
- WP 7: Load analysis and validation
- WP 8: Life cycle assessment and evaluation of sustainability potentials
- WP 9: Development of recommendations for action and reporting
The overall project is divided into 2 sub-projects:
- TU Braunschweig sub-project - Laboratory tests on bitumen replacement in asphalt mixtures: work packages WP 2, WP 3, WP 4, WP 5 and WP 9 (material science-based developments and verifications).
- VINCI Construction sub-project - Life cycle assessment and large-scale technical implementation: work packages WP 6, WP 7 and WP 8 (application-related implementation).