Better roads

We are the world’s largest supplier of bitumen, which is produced by refining heavier crude oils and is a vital ingredient in making paved roads. Developing products with better environmental and social performance is an increasingly important part of our strategy for continuing to compete successfully in the bitumen business.

Shell has developed a process that helps its customers in the construction sector use less energy and emit less CO₂ when laying roads. Shell WAM Foam Solution is a blend of two types of bitumen that can be laid at temperatures 50°C cooler than traditional asphalt. Demonstration projects in Italy in 2006 showed that using the WAM process reduced energy use and CO₂ emissions during road laying by more than 30%. It also reduced dust and local air emissions. By the end of 2007, the process was in use in Europe and licences had been sold for projects in Australia and Canada.

We have also created an alternative to gravel or concrete roads called Shell Instapave Solution, that makes better, all-weather roads more affordable in the developing world. The process involves mixing specially prepared bitumen with locally available stone chips. It is fast, simple and low energy, since the bitumen mixture does not need to be heated. The result is a surface that is tough enough for the low to medium amount of traffic typical on rural roads and cheaper than the main alternatives – concrete or regraveling roads twice a year. The surface not only increases drivers’ fuel efficiency compared to gravel roads, it also makes an important contribution to development, since all weather roads are vital arteries of modern economies. They don’t rut or become impassable in the rainy season and give rural areas access to markets, schools and hospitals.

The World Bank says that a dollar spent improving roads in the developing world boosts local development more than a dollar spent on irrigation. Shell Instapave Solution can help make that dollar go further. It has been launched in the Philippines and, in a pilot scheme, in Central America. It is expected to go on trial in India in 2008.