ORIS among the top 10 in the GI Hub InfraChallenge 2021
Discover the Top 10 tech-based solutions for resilient infrastructure
InfraChallenge 2021 invited ideas for building and maintaining better, more resilient infrastructure. Top 10 competitors whose solutions leverage technologies from artificial intelligence to data mining were announced. Oris, a materials intelligence platform by IRF Member HOLCIM made it to the Top 10.
The Top 10 teams in the Global Infrastructure Hub (GI Hub) InfraChallenge 2021 are:
- 030Solutions from Germany
- Akyas Sanitation from Jordan
- Avus from France
- Detektia from Spain
- ESG Base from UK
- Greenrail from Italy
- InfraClear from USA
- Iris from Canada
- Oris from France
- Xpert Converters from Spain
View the Top 10 solutions and hear their pitches here.
The journey of the Top 10 began with closure of the InfraChallenge applications in March 2021. From a competitive field representing more than 30 countries, the Top 20 teams were selected and completed a six-week mentoring program with InfraChallenge partners to build out their idea and pitch for a place in the Top 10.
Now, the InfraChallenge moves into the next phase of the competition, where the Top 10 teams will compete for the winning prize, to be announced at the InfraChallenge Final event in September 2021.
About InfraChallenge 2021
Delivered by the GI Hub, the annual InfraChallenge competition aims to create a more resilient and quality-focused infrastructure ecosystem for the future. This year, the competition is supported by the Italian G20 Presidency as part of its infrastructure agenda.
Infrastructure is one of the least technologically transformed sectors, with crucial components like construction ranking second to last in digitisation. Technologically enabled infrastructure has the potential to change the cities we live in and, more importantly, help achieve broader goals around sustainability, social cohesion, and inclusive economic growth.
Latest News
BRITA – 2021 Carbon Neutrality and Sustainable Transport Experts Salon
On June 17, 2021 (Beijing Time), Belt and Road International Transport Symposium（BRITS）-- Carbon Neutrality and Sustainable Transport Experts Salon was successfully held in Xi'an, Shaanxi province. The salon was co-organized by the Belt and Road International Green Development Coalition (BRIGC), Belt and Road International Transport Alliance (BRITA), China Highway and Transportation Society as well as Chang'an University. The event gathered a number of famous international experts to discuss the carbon-neutral green transportation for the sustainable development of transport.
Ms. Meng Qiu, the Second Inspector of the Ministry of Transport, Mr. Li Yonghong, Deputy Director of the Foreign Environmental Cooperation Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Mr. Liu Wenjie, Vice President and Secretary General of CHTS as well as Executive President Secretary General of BRITA and Mr. Sha Aimin, Chairman of Chang'an University and Vice Chairman of BRITA attended the salon, emphasizing the positive impact of green mobility and low-carbon transport on climate change, and discussing green climate recovery and low-carbon and sustainable development. They proposed to continuously develop the environmental management of transportation infrastructure, applying low-carbon transportation tools to coordinate different sides to improve the green level of transportation projects.
During the salon, Chang'an University was licensed as BRITA Training Center, Mr. Zhou Wei, Mr. Meng Qiu, Mr. Li Yonghong, and Mr. Sha Aimin witnessed the ceremony.
Mr. Zhou Wei gave a presentation on the Green Transformation of BRI Transportation under the Double Carbon Target. In his report, it was suggested that China strives to achieve carbon peak by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060, which must be given enough attention. Mr. Zhou Wei pointed out that the current carbon emission pattern shows three major features: firstly, there are countries that have achieved carbon dioxide emission reduction and countries whose carbon emissions are still increasing; secondly, global carbon emissions are highly concentrated, with China, the United States, India, Russia and Japan accounting for 60% of the total; thirdly, China's double carbon target is of great significance, but also a difficult task. Finally, Zhou Wei suggested to promote the low-carbon transformation of transportation, we should focus on strengthening structural optimization, management improvement, technological progress and demand-side management, advocating green consumption and cultural innovation, so that to promote green living and green mobility gradually become a social habit and fashion.
Dr. George A. Giannopoulos, Cor. Member Academy of Athens and Vice-President of BRITA, gave an online presentation on Decarbonizing the Road Transport Sector: A European Approach. George gave an overview of the overall EU policy on decarbonization. An ambitious schedule of 50 Green Deal actions was proposed at the end of 2019, but some of these have had to be delayed because of the COVID pandemic. George proposed an integrated approach based on three levels of actions, namely, reduce the demand for mobility and transport, improve vehicle technologies and substitute fossil fuels (Clean energy carriers).
Mr. Wang Yuanqing, professor of Chang’an University, gave a presentation on Whole Life Carbon Assessment and Road Transportation Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality. The main source of carbon emissions in the industry is the transporting process. Prof. Wang suggested that the research institutions figure out the sources of carbon emissions, quantify the carbon reduction targets from different perspectives, find the most suitable method to do emission reduction through carbon sinks. Carbon capture is a long-term idea, and it is suggested that highway certifications should be carried out to promote the green development of highway industry.
Sebastian Castellanos, senior manager of the World Resources Institute, gave an online presentation on Our Global Transport Challenge: Reaching Net 0 by 2050. Sebastian suggested that we need to come up with strategies to get people to reduce their use of private cars. The one thing that governments really have a lot of control is government spending. Countries around the world are putting a lot of money into economic recovery right now, but most of the money currently being invested is not fully serving the decarbonization vision. The money that governments put into roads and cars could be tilted slightly toward public transportation, walking, bicycling, and balance bikes, which are all modes of transportation that help decarbonize easily.
Ms. Helen Kavvadia, Visiting Research Associate of University of Luxembourg and Former Senior Adviser at the Communications Department of the European Investment Bank, presented a working paper on Regional Development Banks Green Finance for Green Transport and other Infrastructure. Ms. Helen believes that in order to promote better coordination among market players, it is necessary to green finance a role to play in promoting sustainable development of transportation infrastructure, and to establish closer partnerships. BRI can serve as a ‘conduit’ for the exchange, interconnection and cooperation of people and goods, information and data, innovation, norms and culture.
During the conference, Carbon Emission Standards for the Automotive Industry in BRI Countries was initiated. The standards shall be composed jointly by BRIGC, CATARC and CHTS, mainly focuses on the green development and carbon emission standards in the automotive industry in the "Belt and Road" countries, benchmark them with the international carbon emission standards, and propose policy recommendations to improve the carbon emission standards in the automotive industry in the BRI countries.
The salon was moderated by Ms Nina Guan, Director of International Cooperation Department of CHTS and Executive Secretary of BRITA, and Ms Yingqi Liu, Professor of Beijing Jiaotong University. At the end of the salon, there was a roundtable discussion with Mr. Huang Quansheng, Deputy Director of Environmental Resources Institute, Planning and Research Institute of Ministry of Transport，Mr. Li Yanlin, Deputy Director of Logistics Center, Scientific Research Institute of Ministry of Transport，Ms Gao Yuan, Senior Manager of Carbon Trading Center, Beijing Green Exchange, Mr. Song Hecai, Chief Engineer of Overseas Business Department, China Construction Civil Engineering Corporation, Mr. Yu Shunxin, Deputy Chief Engineer, Engineering and Technology Research Institute, CCCC Second Highway Survey and Design Research Institute Co. Ltd., Ms Li Panwen, Deputy Director of the BRIGC secretariat, Mr. Liu Rui, Deputy Director of CHTC, Ms Susanna Zammataro, Director General of IRF, Ms Yulia ZVORYKINA, Director and Member of Supervisory Board of Vnesheconombank Institute, Mr. Ashish GAJUREL, Secretary General of Nepal Automobile’s Association (NASA), Mr. Hamid Turaev, Director of International Cooperation Department of Tashkent State University of Transport, Uzbekistan attending the roundtable and talked about the sustainable development and green mobility.
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Swarco and Lime Partner to Improve Street Safety Conditions for Bike and Scooter Riders
Joint pilot project focuses on reducing conflict between cars and micromobility users at intersections to better protect vulnerable road users
Austrian traffic technology corporation SWARCO AG and San Francisco-based Lime, the world’s leading provider of shared electric vehicles, today announced they will join forces to improve the safety of vulnerable road users traveling with e-scooters and bikes. The companies will bundle their respective expertise in traffic management and environmentally friendly mobility services in a pilot project to reduce the traffic crash risk of micromobility users at traffic light controlled intersections.
“As a specialist in mobility and intersection safety, SWARCO is well positioned to help cities offer a safer environment for their new mobility carriers like e-scooters, in particular at those blackspots and conflicting zones where pedestrians, vehicles, e-scooters, bicycles and other modes meet”, says Christoph Stögerer, Head of Innovation & Technology with SWARCO’s ITS Division. “We now team up with the major service provider Lime in order to develop safety solutions for the growing number of micromobility users.”
The joint pilot project, labeled Intersection Risk Mitigation, aims to optimize SWARCO’s adaptive traffic light management algorithms to improve the safety of vulnerable road users and enhance traffic efficiency for drivers as well. SWARCO will leverage Lime’s extensive and unparalleled anonymized ridership data to develop insights and potential countermeasures like adjusted crosswalk timing algorithms to support safer road conditions, especially for vulnerable users of micromobility. SWARCO and Lime look forward to working with City partners to implement data-backed safety measures.
“We know that intersections are key areas where conflict between cars and micromobility users are more likely to occur, which is why we’re excited to partner with SWARCO to reduce the potential for crashes,” said Annie Chang, Director of Safety Programs at Lime. “We’re encouraged by SWARCO’s leadership in providing traffic management solutions throughout Europe and believe that with Lime’s unparalleled expertise in micromobility data, we can make a real impact in improving safety for all road users, including pedestrians, cyclists and scooter riders.”
“Lime and SWARCO will engage with municipalities to create these Intersection Risk Mitigation Solutions“, adds Christoph Stögerer. “This helps to understand current challenges firsthand from the stakeholders affected and evaluate the capabilities of such solutions under real life conditions.”
ABOUT SWARCO
SWARCO’s leading idea is to improve quality of life by making the travel experience safer, quicker, more convenient and environmentally sound. With more than five decades of experience in the industry, the Austrian traffic technology corporation produces and provides a large range of products, systems, services, and turnkey solutions for road marking, urban and interurban traffic management, parking, and public transport. Cooperative systems, infrastructure-to-vehicle communication, e-mobility, and integrated software solutions for the Livable City complement the group’s future-oriented portfolio. 4000 traffic experts are keen to shape together with all stakeholders in the traffic industry the transition from conventional traffic management to value-added services fit for the traveller in the digital age.
SWARCO’s products, systems and solutions contribute to greater road safety and intelligent traffic management in 80 countries and generate revenues of three quarters of a billion euros.
ABOUT LIME
Lime's mission is to foster people-first cities by empowering residents with more affordable, reliable, and sustainable transportation options. As the global leader in micromobility, Lime partners with cities to deploy electric bikes and scooters enabled with GPS and self-activating locks. Lime has powered more than 200 million rides in more than 160 cities across five continents, spurring a new generation of clean alternatives to car ownership. Learn more at li.me
CONTACT INFORMATION
Dr. Christoph Stögerer
Head of Innovation & Technology ITS Division
