The LOOPER project, a collaboration involving Visibuilt ApS, Munck Asfalt A/S, and the Technical University of Denmark, has been awarded a €1.7 million (DKK 13,18 million) grant from EUDP (Det Energiteknologiske Udviklings- og Demonstrationsprogram). The funding aims to further develop visiBIT, a new binder designed to replace fossil fuel-based bituminous binders in pavement construction. The project seeks to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions in the asphalt industry. The grant will support laboratory testing and field trials, enabling the assessment of visiBIT’s performance and potential for wider adoption in sustainable paving solutions.
The purpose of the LOOPER project is to further develop and test our groundbreaking new binder for pavement construction – called visiBIT. visiBIT has the potential to considerably reduce the asphalt industry’s dependency on bituminous binders, which are fossil fuel-based, made from crude oil distillation, and increase energy efficiency in production, ultimately reducing CO2e emissions. The LOOPER project’s solution is unique, as it has the potential to transform the asphalt industry and aims to deliver a sustainable alternative that can demonstrate similar performance to current solutions while eliminating fossil fuel dependency.
Visibuilt’s solution is specifically to create a new type of binder, visiBIT, designed to replace bitumen, to be marketed to asphalt producers, and aims to significantly reduce energy consumption during the production of both the binder and bitumen-free asphalt.
By partnering up with DTU and Munck Asfalt, the visiBIT concept will be further improved. This will first be done under controlled laboratory conditions utilizing advanced testing equipment. Later, field-scale tests will be made with the visiBIT binder by constructing several test sites and loading them with vehicular traffic; the test results will inform the future product development at Visibuilt. Munck Asfalt will test the visiBIT solution with their existing construction equipment and the results will be used to further quantify energy savings compared to working with traditional paving materials.
The results of the LOOPER project will be crucial in moving the visiBIT solution further and supporting the asphalt industry in its efforts towards a net-zero future, oil independence, and energy reduction.
This initiative would not have been possible without the support from EUDP – Det Energiteknologiske Udviklings- og Demonstrationsprogram.
CEO and founder, Line Kloster Pedersen, describes the importance of the EUDP funding as: “Our first prototype has been developed in just 5 months in 2023 on a very modest budget. With the funds from the EUDP, we can now accelerate the further development of the sustainable binder, which the asphalt industry is in strong demand for. The world needs more green solutions, and the EUDP funds will make it possible to achieve our goals with a stronger team, establishment of pilot plants, and collaboration with Munck Asfalt and DTU.”
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Read the orginal article: https://arcticstartup.com/looper-project-raises-e1-7m/
