In the near future, it will be possible to drive on roads capable of denneiger a road, but also to heat public buildings and homes. Eurovia, a major player in the field of road, rail and urban development works, has just tested in 2017 this new technology that will allow a road to store heat, especially in the summer, to return it in winter.
This new technology is part of the " Road of the Future " call for projects put in place by the State in 2015 within the PIA program, which aims to finance development projects. research and development in the field of road infrastructures.
Already in the experimental phase, this intelligent road has the ability to capture thermal energy, particularly that produced by the sun on the roadway. The process is simple: a network of serpentine tubes is incorporated in the bitumen layers and takes care of recovering the surrounding heat.
Stored nearly a meter underground in a geothermal device, this heat can then be redistributed through the tubes. In autumn or winter, where roads can experience ice and snowfall, Power Road has the capacity for example to heat the asphalt to overcome the inconvenience related to weather conditions. But the revolution does not stop there.
Indeed, the road can also redistribute the stored heat to supply the surrounding buildings and participate in heating or hot water production in winter. During the summer season, it can also supply facilities such as swimming pools, agricultural greenhouses or prevent the heat from accumulating on the shoes and forming urban heat islands.
According to data provided by Eurovia, 500 meters of pavement 7 meters wide would be enough to provide 100% of the heating of a greenhouse of 1500 square meters. Another example: associated with a geothermal probe and a heat pump, 25 square meters of road surface, ie two parking spaces, would be enough to supply 100% of the heating of a 70 m2 dwelling.
" One of Power Road's main challenges is to develop the use of geothermal energy and solar thermal energy: the road thus becomes a producer and a renewable source of heat, by limiting the use of fossil fuels, sources of energy. greenhouse gas emissions, "explains Eurovia.
The device has been tested since July 2017 on an area of 500 square meters, on the access road to the heavy truck parking toll Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines. Thanks to a heat pump, the system must contribute to the heating of a building of the Cofiroute company. In August 2017, the Power Road was also installed on the parking surface of a high school in Pontarlier, in the Doubs. The aim is to clear snow and de-ice the car park, the bus dock and some sidewalks in the winter of 2018.
According to Eurovia, its technology would only increase the installation time of a new road or repair by 15%. But its cost could be a drag. If Eurovia did not specify the costs invested in this system, Pierre Anjolras, the president of the firm says that "Power Road costs around 250 euros per square meter, a little more than twice the cost of a single coating. However, it must be put into perspective with the cost of an airport or a closed road due to snow or ice. And do not reason on the cost alone but on the socio-economic balance of the various features that we offer . "
In the long term, the company hopes for a complete industrialization so that traditional construction machinery can install this road.