BATT Supports World’s First Trial of Low-Carbon Asphalt Binder Replacement

In August 2025, the BATT Team played a key role in the world’s first field trial of Uberbinder, the breakthrough Inverse Vulcanized polymer binder that’s designed to lower paving emissions and make cold-mix asphalt a practical reality. The pavement trial was conducted in Waltham, Massachusetts. Benevento Company produced the trial mix at its Plaistow, New Hampshire plant, and Cassidy Paving completed the paving on-site.

The test section—two 16’x16’ parking spaces at an abandoned office complex—was small in scale but large in significance. The mix used a standard MassDOT 9.5mm PG64-28 surface mix, modified to replace 20% of the traditional asphalt binder with Uberbinder. This was the first-ever production trial of Uberbinder in the world, marking a major step toward low-carbon paving solutions.

Developed in England by Jett Yang and Jonathan Davis, Uberbinder is a novel bio-polymerized sulfur binder made from industrial and agricultural by-products and waste. The material’s difference lies in its Inverse Vulcanized sulfur-based bio-binder, a breakthrough polymer that’s safe to use—unlike raw sulfur, which can be hazardous when mishandled. Because sulfur is one of the most abundant elements on earth and a by-product of many industrial processes, Uberbinder offers the potential of an inexhaustible, circular feedstock for road materials.

The long-term goal of Uberbinder’s developers is to enable cold mix paving—eliminating the need for heating, hauling, and high-energy processes. As Phil Blankenship, president of BATT explains, “The developers of Uberbinder would like to see a 100 percent use of recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) with a 100 percent use of Uberbinder at room temperature. That’s the low carbon sweet spot. All RAP and no or little heat.”

BATT has worked with Uberbinder since 2020 to refine and test the binder blend and prepare it for field use. Early collaboration and lab testing for the Waltham trail focused on finalizing the binder blend formulation and ensuring it could integrate effectively into traditional hot mix design and plant operations. Once the formulation was validated, BATT coordinated with BXP, which provided the test site as part of their commitment to advancing low-carbon infrastructure. In addition, representatives from Mass Mobility Hub were present at the test site as part of its interest in advancing sustainable transportation solutions.

A week prior to the trial, the BATT team produced two 10-pound (5,000g) verification batches to confirm mix workability and performance. Then an initial 4-ton production batch was produced at Benevento’s plant the day prior to the trial. Because Uberbinder pours like honey at ambient temperature, it was incorporated by hand by Phil Blankenship and BATT team member Jaxon Burkhart on both days—a process that required minimal modification to the normal process.

During paving, BATT provided on-site quality control, including density testing, temperature verification, and thermal imaging, with additional lab testing on mix samples for performance evaluation. Feedback from the field was overwhelmingly positive. Cassidy’s paving crew reported that the material was “easy to work with” and “performed like normal asphalt.” BATT will continue to monitor the project, particularly any impacts the area’s snow and ice winter climate may have on the pavement.

The Waltham trial represents an important step closer toward the transition to low-carbon pavement materials that can be produced and placed with little to no heat. Once fully realized, Uberbinder will help move pavement construction toward Zero Net Carbon by 2050 by making cold, energy-efficient mix production and placement a reality for a low-carbon future. The Waltham test was a first step—but an important one—in proving that high-performance, lower-carbon asphalt solutions are within reach.

For more information on sustainable asphalt solutions, visit BATT.