The image of an highway as factor of production of smog, noise pollution and landscape change appears like it is about to end thanks to the new project “KmZero Road” which will be presented next March at Triennale of Milan.

Devised by Giulio Ceppi, professor at the Polytechnic of Milan and founder of “Total Tool Milano”, the project has already found the interest of different firms interested in promoting concrete and innovative solutions in the sector of road infrastructures. KmZero Road turns over its head the notion that road building is an aggressive factor for the environment, transforming it in an energy source which utilizes both local natural factors (sun, wind, etc.) and the energy produced by the transit of vehicles in order to produce sustainable energy. This is possible through the use of technologies and practical solutions which reduces both the environmental impact and, in particular, the presence of polluting factors released in the atmosphere. In order to achieve these results the project plans to use a balanced use of solar panels and micro wind power generators, and, to increase road safety, antifreeze modules are going to be inserted in the asphalt of the motorway. Giulio Ceppi, president of Total Tool, says that “KmZero Road” is conceived as a road-system which behaves as an organism, with an own inner metabolism, capable of interacting with the external environmental and deriving from it some operational advantages, also in terms of safety and future economic management: the road moves away from being a simple cost becoming itself an energy resource, contributing to safety and to the active integration of different functions. The SWOMM workshop deals with innovative experiences like this one, in order to improve environmental quality and infrastructural efficiency in the transport sector.

http://www.swomm.info/2011/04/kmzero-road-the-sustainable-highway-that-produces-energy/