(NOMINATION FOR AUREA 2017 AWARD) PetroSOLAR - Intelligent solar-driven furniture

Novi Sad-based company Petro-mont has developed intelligent and energy-independent street furniture (smart bus stops, smart benches and totems) supplied with electricity from renewable energy sources through solar panels and, optionally, kinetic floor tiles. The energy is stored in a central battery in order to be used for self-lighting, charging mobile devices, providing a WiFi signal, supplying display stands with power, lighting billboards and many other purposes.

The foundation of PetroSOLAR products is a totem containing a solar panel, the accompanying installations and additional elements, the basic purpose of which is to provide users with LED lighting, free charging of mobile devices and, optionally, a WiFi signal, as well as to provide advertising and tourist information on the current location and nearby attractions. PetroSOLAR benches are an extension of the totems, whereas PetroSOLAR bus stops are also based on totems around which elements are integrated through construction, making for a bus stop (side and back elements, as well as a roof).

Thanks to the implementation of green energy and energy independence, the simplicity of the design and wide-encompassing functionality, enabling the integration of numerous additional elements, depending on the investor's desires, the solutions are mounted quickly and simply in any given location in the city or the out-of-the-city area. They can be found in parks, ski resorts, promenades, beaches, open parking lots or protected natural areas, such as national parks.

By implementing solar energy, the public electricity expenditures are reduced considerably, and the environmental care is improved to a large extent by using renewable energy sources.

PetroSOLAR projects were fully developed by a team of local engineers of the company Petro-mont, headed by the project author Lazar Josanov. The production has started and the first shipments within Serbia and Montenegro have been contracted. Thanks to the cooperation with a Slovakian company, the possibility of export to the EU market has been opened, and there's also interest in the United Arab Emirates and Australia.

INNOVATION

(Photo: Shutterstock.com)

PetroSOLAR is intelligent and energy-independent street furniture supplied with green energy exclusively, solar and, optionally, kinetic energy (generated from footsteps of pedestrians), consisting of a line of 3 products sharing a single foundation: a smart ad totem, a smart bench and a smart bus stop.

The foundation of the production program is an ad totem with a solar panel on top supplying it with electricity. The installation connects it to the battery, located at the bottom, where energy is stored to be used for charging mobile devices, LED lighting, charging WiFi routers, display stands... A further extension of the sitting space produces a bench, and the integration of additional elements (side and back elements, a roof) produces a PetroSOLAR bus stop.

The basic variation of each product includes:

1. LED lighting

2. Mobile device chargers

3. WiFi routers

4. Mobile device stands

5. Ad space

Optionally, depending on the product and the investor's desires and needs, the following elements can be integrated:

1. An interactive screen

2. Billboard display

3. Surveillance cameras

4. LED displays for monitoring bus traffic

5. City light display stands, including a rotation mechanism

PetroSOLAR products are energy-independent, fully functional products which considerably improve the quality of life and the image of the location thanks to its numerous elements integrated in a single whole. Their main advantage is that they can be mounted in any location within or outside the city in a quick and simple fashion, after which they can be used immediately.

There are several models of PetroSOLAR smart benches, as well as several models of smart bus stops. The street furniture is charged by solar energy exclusively, requiring no wire installations, which makes it suitable for a variety of locations, including suburban areas, thereby increasing passenger safety in suburban traffic. Given the totem's height of 2.4 meters, it can also be used as public lighting in beaches, promenades, wharves, parking stops on highways... Cooperation with an English producer of floor tiles has been established as well. The tiles generate power from the kinetic energy of the footsteps of pedestrians and can be integrated in the PetroSOLAR system, making them especially interesting for shopping malls and locations with high pedestrian frequency.

Depending on the needs and desires of the investor, side and back elements of bus stops can be made out of various materials or in the form of display stands with integrated lighting and rotation ad systems. Furthermore, given their modular nature, depending on the location and the number of passengers, stops can be simply enlarged or reduced in size in order to fit the number of passengers. As a special upgrade feature, the bus stops can be connected to the city BUS STOP system, providing information about bus lines, expected times of arrival etc.

Although similar solutions do exist in the market, PetroSOLAR street furniture stands out as being a complete product. Aside from using green energy exclusively and unifying several services (phone charging, WiFi, LED lighting, advertising) while allowing for a wide range of various implementations, the procurement of this type of street furniture can be financed, thanks to its versatility, by various projects and local and foreign funds: environmental protection and enhancement, development of tourism, local development enhancement, energy efficiency enhancement, increasing safety, increasing traffic safety...

SOCIAL USEFULNESS

The main purpose of PetroSOLAR products is to provide users with free mobile device charging and WiFi, while providing advertising and tourist information and messages. Furthermore, each product has its own LED lighting, contributing to the safety of the location and reducing risk of vandalism.

Petro-mont points out three key advantages of installing PetroSOLAR products:

1. Increasing safety in unlighted areas within and outside the city. This especially pertains to traffic safety, as the products feature self-lighting, which is especially important for children-passengers in areas outside the city and in stops outside populated areas.

2. Improving the quality of life by meeting the constant need for internet access and additional energy for mobile devices.

3. Increased interaction with street furniture, seeing how it contributes to a more efficient transmission of advertising messages and information.

Other important advantages of PetroSOLAR products:

- Implementation of green energy from renewable sources

- Absence of a negative impact on the environment

- Conventional energy source saving by implementing renewable energy sources

- Reduction of costs of public electricity consumption

- Improving a location's image with attractive and highly functional street furniture

FINANCIAL POTENTIAL

All PetroSOLAR products are energy-independent, not requiring any additional power supply by wire from the electrical network, thanks to which they are easily mounted in any outdoors location, such as city squares, streets and parks, promenades, outings spots, beaches and parking stops on highways, and since they don't pollute the environment and have no negative impact on it, they are an acceptable solution for national parks and protected natural areas as well. Once installed, they require no additional maintenance and they don't produce additional electricity supply costs.

There are several models of PetroSOLAR smart benches, as well as several models of smart bus stops, which can be built in line with the client's needs and demands, and the products are as applicable in the local market as in all foreign markets.

The production process is carried out in line with the following ISO standards:

1. ISO 9001 – Quality management systems

2. ISO 14001 – Environmental management systems

3. OHSAS 18001 – Occupational health and safety management systems

4. ISO 3834-2 – Standardization of fusion welding performed by attested welders exclusively

The production started in 2016, when the first models were made, and the first totem will be delivered in the coming days to the Tourist Organization of Loznica. Cooperation with the regional tourist organization in Montenegro has also been established. The organization plans to install 12 PetroSOLAR totems through a project of development of local tourism, whereas the procurement of additional 6 totems has been planned as part of the regional cooperation of Montenegro with Bosnia and Herzegovina (3 totems for each country). Furthermore, the final negotiations with the Tourist Organization of Paracin about the procurement of a PetroSOLAR bench are in progress, whereas the city of Lajkovac is interested in installing 2 bus stops.

Cooperation with Belgrade is becoming increasingly more likely to happen. The city plans to install smart benches featuring mobile device chargers using solar energy in several locations.

Thanks to the cooperation with a Slovakian company, whose solar cells and batteries are installed in the totem, whereas the finished semi-product is then exported to them, the possibility of export to the EU market has been opened. There's also interest in foreign markets, with the United Arab Emirates (Dubai), as well as Australia, being interested in PetroSOLAR street furniture.

PetroSOLAR products are financially and qualitatively competitive in the global market. The prices of totems range from EUR 1,950 up, the cheapest benches cost EUR 2,300, and the stops cost from EUR 3,000 up.

Petro-mont has existed for 30 years now and currently employs 50 workers. In addition to its core activities of designing and performing thermal-technical installations, it has also been designing and mounting steel structures and performing steelwork for years. They've also been producing conventional bus stops for Subotica for five years now, and, in 2016, they contracted the job of producing and mounting 60 conventional bus stops in Belgrade as well.

PetroSOLAR street furniture is part of the company's efforts to enhance its business and thereby further strengthen its place in the local market and initiate the export of its products.

If PetroSOLAR inteligent solar-driven furniture is your favorite one for the investment of the year, you can vote at the official Aurea award website .

Petro-Mont d.o.o. Novi Sad

eKapija.com Beograd

Turistička organizacija opštine Paraćin

Turistička organizacija Loznice