The University of Southampton is one of several organisations to receive funding from the Government's £9 million "First of a Kind" competition to make the railways cleaner, greener and more passenger-friendly.
The IMAGE (Innovative composite Mast for Greener Electrification) project is a collaboration between industry and academia to develop a lightweight, low carbon composite support structure for electrification wires.
The University's School of Engineering will develop foundation designs to reduce the use of costly and CO2-intensive steel and concrete, and speed up installation.
Professor David Richards, Head of the School of Engineering at the University of Southampton, said: "To meet its decarbonisation objectives, Network Rail has to electrify 13,000km of UK track by 2050. This project will offer a significant reduction in the mass of the support masts, but the real benefits lie in the cumulative positive effects of reducing the size of the foundations, cutting the cost and embedded carbon involved in reducing transport emissions."
"Decarbonisation of transport infrastructure and the way we use it, to help avert the climate catastrophe, is a major goal and we are proud to contribute to this project."
The First of a Kind competition is focused on developing pioneering technology and exceptional ideas that can improve journeys for travellers, encourage passengers back onto trains and reduce the environmental impacts of rail.
Now in its fifth round, the competition was open to inventors from across the nation.
Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, said "I am delighted to announce the winners of the 2021 First of a Kind competition. These winners will hopefully play a role in putting passengers at the centre of our railways as we build back better from COVID-19.
"The competition always throws up surprises and the ideas shown today could transform how we travel in future."
Simon Edmonds, Deputy Executive Chair and Chief Business Officer, Innovate UK, said "As we move ever closer to getting past the pandemic, passengers are returning to the railway. To give them ever greater confidence that rail is safe and sustainable, we called upon UK innovators to come up with fresh ideas.
"Yet again the response has been fantastic. Not only will passengers benefit from these great innovations, but business prospects are bright in this sector too."
