Electrokinetic geosynthetics: from research to hype to practice

Abstract

Electrokinetic geosynthetics enable civil engineers to put electrical energy into the ground to stiffen it and control groundwater flows. This paper summarises the evolution of the technology over the past 25 years, from research by way of hype and into practice. It was conceived in 1993 at Newcastle University in the UK, combining established knowledge of geotextiles with historical studies of electrokinetics. A series of UK government-funded research programmes helped to generate global interest in its possible applications, leading to a technology spin-off company being incorporated in 2001 to attract private venture capital investment and further development funding. This eventually narrowed down the practical applications to slope stabilisation and dewatering, which now form the company’s main revenue streams.

Contextualizing technology transfer: a review of university-industry transfer in the construction industry

“…First, university spin-off creation is one of the commercialisation routes through which researchers bring their ideas to market. Several studies have highlighted the suitability of establishing university spin-offs to successfully commercialise university-developed construction technologies, such as geosynthetic technology (Jones et al, 2017), nanotechnology (Ozin et al, 2013), and technology for water quality monitoring (Bazan, 2019). Moreover, spin-off creation seems to be particularly relevant for the commercialisation of sustainable solutions because this approach allows to extensively conduct experiments, test the value proposition and the market potential in the university context before making a significant investment (Bazan, 2019).…”

“…However, the government can also adapt policy and provide incentives in support of TT and innovation in the construction sector (Suprun et al, 2019;Jones et al, 2017). These government incentives can for instance include providing loans, fiscal concessions, subsidies or funding.…”

“…Specifically, the construction sector is required to reduce its environmental footprint (Richner et al, 2017), which represents opportunities to develop new energy efficient materials, use renewable energy, and so on. Yet, these trends require much additional research and environmental considerations will likely impact the TT and innovation process (Jones et al, 2017).…”

“…However, the costs can be compensated by savings on maintenance and the subsequent favourable life cycle (Tassicker et al, 2016). The literature indicates that it is often difficult to get innovations accepted into civil engineering practice (Jones et al, 2017), and a variety of restrictive codes and regulations contribute to this (Laborde and Sanvido, 1995). Furthermore, prior research in the construction sector suggests that university spin-offs are often not sufficiently attractive for investors (Nejabat and Geenhuizen, 2019).…”

“…First, a new technology may affect performance and efficiency (Jones et al, 2001;Jones et al, 2017). In addition to the optimization of construction processes, the interaction between university and industry can reduce costs, provide support for companies to globalize their operations and offer infrastructural support (Shakeel et al, 2017).…”