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       SWARCO Road Marking Systems claims that its new generation of premium SOLIDPLUS reflective glass beads not only provides increased road safety, but is also produced sustainably.
       Continuous improvement of production processes ensures efficient and responsible use of resources and reduces environmental impact. New data analysis software helps to unlock additional potential for more sustainable production.
       These high-quality reflective glass beads with excellent retroreflective properties improve the visibility of road markings in adverse conditions, thereby increasing road safety. They are the result of many years of continuous research and development by the SWARCO Competence Centre for Glass Technology and Marking Systems.
       Modern driver assistance systems depend on clearly visible road markings. Dark, wet roads combined with glare from oncoming vehicles always pose challenges. This requires a system of clearly visible markings that can be recognized by vehicle sensors even in adverse conditions. This is critical for the development of modern driver assistance systems and self-driving cars. The clearer the road markings, recognized by cameras and lidar, the safer the roads become for both people and cars.
       SWARCO claims that SOLIDPLUS is always produced in the most environmentally friendly way possible. Friedrich Wiesinger, Head of SWARCO’s Competence Center, explained that the “new generation of glass beads” have been produced since last year in one of the most modern factories for the production of reflective glass beads. 100% of the required electricity is provided by renewable energy sources, partly by photovoltaic panels on the roof of the production plant.
       And that’s not all, he says. “We have very ambitious goals to make our products even more environmentally friendly. We are working on new glass formulations based on natural raw materials to produce the most environmentally friendly reflective glass beads in the world.”
       To achieve these goals, we are currently using new, dedicated data analysis software that enables comprehensive emission analysis across the entire supply chain, all production processes and throughout the entire product life cycle. This even enables us to accurately determine the environmental footprint of individual products, such as SWARCO SOLIDPLUS.
       The collected data enables the Competence Centre to conduct targeted research. For example, the software can identify which raw materials have a particularly high carbon footprint. If possible, they can be replaced with more environmentally friendly resources.
       “Our product development teams are exploring how to switch from environmentally harmful materials to alternatives with a minimal ecological footprint,” says Wiesinger. “This helps reduce emissions, waste and long-distance transport, and contributes to the development of an efficient circular economy. These are concrete initiatives aimed at making the production of SWARCO SOLIDPLUS even more environmentally friendly in the long term.”