Bio-based traffic signs for a sustainable traffic environment

Purpose and goal:

Traffic signs today are mainly produced from aluminum or fossil-based fiber-reinforced composites. The aim of the project was to contribute to a climate-neutral transport infrastructure by offering new products based on renewable raw materials to substitute the existing solutions and thus reduce the associated carbon dioxide emissions and energy consumption.

A further aim was to verify a new value chain that uses residual products from the Swedish pulp industry and to evaluate that technical, economical and environmental criteria can be met. Expected results and effects:

This project successfully developed fully renewable lignin-based resins and evaluated demo specimens of traffic signs in outdoor environments. Promising results regarding durability and adhesion of marking foil paved the way towards fully bio-based traffic sign bearers consisting of the newly developed lignin-based resin, together with reinforcing agents obtained from vegetal waste streams.

The reduced environmental impact compared to existing alternatives was also assessed, which should affect the road equipment sector, pushing for increased sustainability. Approach and implementation:

The project gathered actors at every step of the newly developed value chain, which brought a broad vision and facilitated the elaboration of feasibility and implementation predictions. A clear roadmap was agreed upon regarding (1) scaling up production in Sweden while minimizing environmental impact and offering a competitive market price, (2) further optimization to meet technical requirements, and (3) implementation scenarios in the Swedish environment focusing on raw material availability and stepwise installation without disrupting the whole sector.