Directa Plus has announced the installation of GiPave® at the Imola Circuit ahead of the upcoming Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix in May 2024, as part of the Formula 1 World Championship, making it the first circuit to feature green, sustainable and high-tech asphalt utilizing graphene and recycled plastics.
GiPave® was developed by Iterchimica and resulted from a multi-year research program conducted in collaboration with G.Eco of the A2A Group, the University of Milano-Bicocca, and Directa Plus. The product uses graphene supplied by Directa Plus alongside hard-to-recycle plastics, such as certain types of toys, fruit crates, and old CD cases that would not normally be recycled. The asphalt containing GiPave® can itself be entirely recycled, further reducing waste and the need for new materials.
The access road paving to the paddocks at Imola, which experiences the highest volume of heavy vehicles and people at race events, has been resurfaced with GiPave®, providing higher performance in terms of resistance and durability, extending the pavement's life beyond the best technologies currently available on the market and significantly reducing environmental impacts thanks to lower maintenance requirements.
The use of GiPave® also reduces energy and raw materials consumption. Over the useful life of the pavement, the installation of GiPave® is expected to result in savings including more than 78,000 kg of bitumen, 1.623 million kg of aggregates (equivalent to the weight of 955 cars), about 115 truck trips for transporting materials, over 1,182,125 kWh of energy (equal to the monthly needs of approximately 5,254 families), and 74,000 kg of CO2eq (equivalent to the absorption capacity of about 3,000 adult trees in a year). In addition, 3,700 kg of selected hard recycled plastics have been recovered and repurposed.
Giulio Cesareo, CEO of Directa Plus, commented: "I am thrilled to see that the Imola Circuit is now the first in the world to implement an innovative, green asphalt solution incorporating our Graphene Plus®, thanks to our partnership with Iterchimica. This project underlines the limitless applications of Gipave-from bridges and motorways to airports and now race tracks. The outstanding properties of Graphene Plus continue to pave the way for more sustainable infrastructure globally.
"Iterchimica and Directa Plus are pushing the boundaries of technology and sustainability and we are delighted to be collaborating with the Group with which we with share the same goal to build a greener future."