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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Pavnext (NextGen Road Safety for smarter cities)

Teaser

Summary

Every year more than 1.25 million people are killed worldwide by road accidents and over 50 million are seriously injured. Road traffic accidents are the main leading cause of death for people aged between 15 to 29 years old, which cost governments approximately 3% of their GDP (WHO, Global Road Safety Report on 2015). In average, a speed reduction of only 5% can reduce by 30% the number of fatal crashes. In cities, a speed reduction from 50 km/h to 30 km/h can reduce the probability of fatality in an accident from 45% to 10% (Holzmann, 2008). Adding to this, 38% of the pedestrian deaths in car accidents happen in crosswalks. Pavnext appears to minimize this numbers and present an effective solution this problem.

Pavnext is a technology-based company that promotes safer, smarter and more sustainable cities through the solutions provided by its proprietary technology. We are developing a smart pavement device, that consists of an equipment to implement in the road pavement surface of speed reduction areas where vehicles needs to dissipate energy to reduce their speeds, that is able to harvest vehicles\' kinetic energy and, with a very high conversion efficiency, converts it into electrical energy, which can be injected into the grid or used locally in electrical applications as road illumination or traffic light signs, being more relevant if connected to the urban micro grids. It is adapted to smart cities by collecting data and providing information about traffic and energy, supporting road safety and optimizing the energy consumption of the place in real time.

Work performed

Since its creation, Pavnext has sought to deepen the study of the state-of-the-art of road safety technologies by adding knowledge through the publication of peer-review articles, patents, as well as by participating in international conferences. These activities along with the development of the first prototype served as initial validation of the technology. After concluding this initial technology validation, and with the support of SME phase 1, we are now developing our first product: a solution to implement near crosswalks, to effectively reduce the vehicles\' speed without any driver action, and to properly illuminate crosswalks, maximizing road safety in these places. For this application, municipalities are our first customers. Considering the European market only, and cities with more than 150 thousand people, the market opportunity we are addressing reaches 1.2 billion Euros. Globally, this market has a potential to reach 20 billion Euros by 2020. To validate the technology in this market, a Public campaign was implemented among 4 main target groups: users (pedestrians and drivers); customers; key Informers; and influencers. Also, during this period, an international (PCT) patent was submitted, the first procedures for the certification were developed and the product industrial optimization has started.

Final results

Pavnext aims to reinvent the paradigm of urban road safety solutions, by do not depend on drivers to effectively reduce the vehicle speeds, as well as change the way energy is produced and consumed in the public space (Technologic Impact), allowing to significantly decrease the energy consumption from the grid in the urban environment at same time it has a return on the investment in 5 years (Economic Impact). With this, we will contribute to a decrease in the CO2 emissions associated to the energy production based on fossil fuels, promoting a better environment (Environmental Impact) while, at the same time, we are saving lives and providing a better quality of life to citizens, through an increase in the urban road safety (Social Impact).