13/11/2024
Press
Table of contents

 

LuminoKrom®: an innovation that lights up cycle paths in Gironde

In a report broadcast on France Bleu Gironde, LuminoKrom® photoluminescent paint is highlighted for its role in making the region's cycle paths safer at night. By capturing daylight and releasing it at night, LuminoKrom® improves the visibility of cycle paths without the need for electric lighting.

This project, which has been applied on the Vélodyssée in the Bay of Arcachon, is part of a sustainable mobility approach, offering an ecological and safe solution for cyclists. The report highlights this French innovation, which is transforming road signage and could be adopted more widely across the country.

 

Podcast transcript

Putting light where there isn't any, but without electricity, with little expense. That's the challenge facing Pessac-based OliKrom, a finalist in the 2024 edition of the trophées une pile Institut national de la propriété intellectuelle. The company manufactures glow-in-the-dark paints where it costs €200-400,000 to electrify 1 km of cycle track. With this paint, it's 7000€.

With local authorities cutting back on public lighting, orders are pouring in," explains founder and managing director Jean-François Létard. Today, we produce one every 2 days worldwide. So what's the point? Well, it's to make cycle paths safer in places where there's no public lighting, but also now to support all local authorities who switch off public lighting. And making sidewalks safer. Because, in fact, now, when a visit being, Well, it's impossible for a pedestrian to get around. It's all black. You don't even know where the sidewalk is, where the white is, where you have to work. And so, by simply applying luminescent paint, we make things safer and create a luminous guide to reassure users.

Jean François Létard, founder and director of Pessac-based OliKrom. He was a guest on France bleu Gironde's L'écho d'ici. His entire interview can be found on francebleu.fr.