GEOLAB
European project for transnational access to geotechnical testing facilities
The existing Critical Infrastructure (CI) of Europe in the water, energy, urban and transport sector is facing major challenges because of pressures such as climate change, extreme weather, geo-hazards, aging and increased usage in combination with pivotal changes in the CI to meet long-term societal goals (e.g. energy transition). To address these challenges, scientific research and innovative solutions are needed that can only be achieved by an interdisciplinary, cross-boundary approach and by equipping expert teams with the most advanced suite of physical research infrastructure available that allows them to work across spatial scales, explore different theories that describe the pressures and adopt innovative techniques for solutions.
The GEOLAB Research Infrastructure (RI) consists of 11 unique installations in Europe aimed to study subsurface behavior and the interaction with structural CI elements (e.g. a bridge) and the environment. The overarching aim of GEOLAB is to integrate and advance these key national research infrastructures towards a one-stop-shop of excellent physical research infrastructure for performing ground-breaking research and innovation to address challenges faced by the Critical Infrastructure of Europe.