[La Tribune] OliKrom company makes non-toxic paints that light up cities at night
A breakthrough innovation, LuminoKrom®, the paint developed by OliKrom at Bordeaux Métropole, boasts an impressive array of assets. Easy to recharge with light and inexpensive, this paint is already used by the aeronautics and space industries, and is set to become increasingly popular on roads and cycle paths.
OliKrom and LuminoKrom®: sustainable lighting for tomorrow's cities
In an article published by La Tribune, our company OliKrom is highlighted for its LuminoKrom® innovation, a photoluminescent paint that illuminates urban infrastructures at night. This non-toxic, environmentally-friendly solution offers enhanced visibility without the need for artificial lighting, thus helping to reduce energy consumption by local authorities. By capturing daylight and releasing it at night, LuminoKrom® is fully in line with ecological transition and sustainable mobility initiatives.
The article also highlights OliKrom's industrial vision, which combines technological innovation and environmental responsibility to offer solutions tailored to the current challenges facing communities and urban infrastructures.
Paint that also recharges with headlights
"I already had luminous materials with very good properties, but in 2016 nobody was interested in them. It was an order from Eiffage Route, looking for a new luminous solution for road safety that was resistant to weather and wear, that got OliKrom off the ground. This luminous paint has no equivalent. Sure, you can find color-changing materials on the Internet, but it's really for geeks," says the chemist.
He goes on to explain that his revolutionary innovation, to be named LuminoKrom® in 2019 and marketed from 2020, "is the only photoluminescent road paint on the market capable of lighting up at night for ten hours" (class G certification/ISO 17398 standard guaranteeing 10 hours' visibility). "LuminoKrom® can be recharged whatever the weather, even in forests," begins Jean-François Létard, before going on to explain that this paint draws its energy from the entire light spectrum, including ultraviolet rays.
"Even car headlights, moonlight and smartphone light can be used to recharge LuminoKrom®," says OliKrom's CEO. The components of the luminous paint developed by the company are of natural origin and non-toxic, says the CEO. On the road, despite tire abrasion, the paint lasts for almost three years, says OliKrom's boss, a time reduced to six months on traffic circles, but extended to five years in city centers, as in Pessac. The move towards greater energy sobriety, with public lighting switched off at night, potentially paves the way for LuminoKrom ® .
La Tribune article on our revolutionary paint
In this article from La Tribune, LuminoKrom® is presented as a revolutionary solution for improving the safety and sustainability of urban infrastructures. The article highlights how our paint, developed by Olikrom, can be used to illuminate roads, bicycle paths and other night-time mobility equipment, while eliminating the need for costly, energy-intensive electrical systems.
The article also explores Olikrom's key role in the energy transition, highlighting our commitment to non-toxic, sustainable and high-performance products. Through LuminoKrom®, Olikrom is positioning itself as a key player in the design of intelligent, environmentally-friendly infrastructures, providing concrete answers to the challenges of tomorrow's cities.
Some passages are taken from La Revue n°13 - "Energies, la France qui innove" currently on newsstands.