25/01/2022
Press

LuminoKrom® is the first photoluminescent road paint designed to make mobility safer at night. It is the most efficient solution on the market with 10 hours of luminance. A patented and certified technological innovation made in France, designed by the OliKrom company in Pessac (33).

Jean-François Létard, director of OliKrom, was the guest of Bruno Guillon and his team on Tuesday 25 January 2022 on the Fun Radio morning show.

https://youtu.be/s9DJpoABX9c

Presenter : Jean-François is the founder and manager of OliKrom 7 in Pessac. We're going to go to Gironde and he's going to explain something pretty amazing to us and we're going to talk about the future. You know that when you are on the road, to be able to see in particular the crosswalks the signs on the ground at night you need public lighting, public lighting is electricity, electricity is energy that can impact nature and therefore we try to find solutions to have a future a little more green. He invented a photoluminescent road paint that will allow to fight against the light pollution and respect the environment, in fact it is a marking that captures and stores the sunlight or the artificial light and the night the painting lights up without electricity and without emission of CO2, that is to say that when you arrive on the road, the crosswalk appears as if it was drawn with Stabilo. I mean, I find it completely crazy. Hello Jean-François.

Jean-François Létard : Hello to the whole team!

Presenter : Did I explain the concept well?

Jean-François Létard : Yes, absolutely, it's great. That is to say that we have developed a paint that captures the light during the day and then restores it all night long for more than 10 hours.

Presenter : I think it's great, Jean-François, because I'm one of those people who can't see anything at night while driving. It's really complicated because I can't find my way around in the dark and I think I'm not alone. So when you see the photo with this paint, you can see much more clearly, does it work in all regions, even those that have a little less sun than others?

Jean-François Létard : So today it is spread over more than 80 communities all over France, what you have behind the screen, that is to say this picture is in Carcans and today it is used to guide people on bicycle paths and for pedestrian paths too, so it works everywhere, whether it is in the north or in the south, in fact it is independent of the sun and it is just as effective in winter as in summer.

Presenter : It is completely brilliant because for example when you are on a bicycle, you see for those who cycle a lot and we do more and more, the bicycle light breaks down, you don't have dynamos anymore, it is really battery powered. If your battery fails you are like a moron and so if the bike path is marked on the ground and you can follow the path avoiding the dangers. I think it's completely crazy but it's really a French creation that didn't exist abroad, Jean-François?

Jean-François Létard : So it existed but it was materials that were only reserved for the interior and no one had ever succeeded in putting it outside so that it could withstand humidity, ice, snow and in fact it took us more than four years with the partner group Eiffage to develop this technology and today it is a paint that is very easy to apply and if you talk about their small bicycle headlights, we observe at about 4 meters and 8 meters with a bicycle headlight. With our paint you see 80 meters in front of you and so you are really guided and you see dangerous places like the edge of a river. You can really be reassured at night.

We really developed for the road domain but today we are extending this paint you see for the sea rescue. Today when the snsm makes an intervention, there is a need to manage to mark the zones and this paint is also being deployed for sea rescue.

Presenter : We can hope that it will be on all the roads of France within how long?

Jean-François Létard : So we are already deploying it for bicycles, for mobility, for pedestrians. I really urge everyone who has a place in a town that is poorly lit and does not have lighting to go and ask the town hall for this type of paint. We are starting to deploy it internationally, we have projects in Belgium, Canada, and Africa as well, because there is a real challenge behind it, not only in terms of safety, but also in terms of allowing mobility at night. There are many municipalities today that are starting to turn off their lighting at night. Concerning the price, you should all keep in mind that today a kilometer of public lighting costs the taxpayers between 200,000 and 400,000 euros when we install a kilometer of public lighting. This same kilometer with our paint is just 4000 euros.

Presenter : Last question quickly Jean-François, is it toxic or not?

Jean-François Létard : We had a life cycle analysis done to know how much we are taking from nature, and just to understand if you take an equivalent of 20 km of public lighting today, the most ecological solution that existed until now was the small photovoltaic panels, you were doing 54 km, and now with our solution we are doing almost 200 km. That is to say that we are taking much less from nature and I urge everyone because it is a real revolution, we started the first bike path in 2018 and today there are more than four years and you know to change habits is very long. It's really up to everyone to go and ask a city hall to put in bike lanes.

Presenter : Thank you very much for coming this morning, Jean-François Létard.

Jean-François Létard : Thank you to the whole team and thank you for your good mood.