Komobility aims to change the sustainable road solution landscape, leaning away from emulsion-based solutions, and instead offering innovative material science technology that’s already proven internationally.
According to the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics, federal, state, territory and local governments spend about $30 billion annually on the maintenance, upgrade and expansion of Australia’s 875,000-kilometre road network.
Despite less than half of these roads being sealed, repairs for asphalt surfaces still take up a great deal of available cost and time, across all levels of government.
Komobility, a sustainable solution provider for road maintenance, has recognised that current methods and treatments aren’t enough.
It’s why the company’s messaging focuses on the need to ‘sunscreen our roads’.
So, what does sunscreen have to do with roads?
Danny Nadri, Managing Director – Komobility, believes that similar to our skin, roads should be protected against potential damage by the sun and UV (ultraviolet) rays, rather than waiting for an operation for treatment.
“When it comes to our skin, we don’t just wait for a skin cancer operation. We apply preventative methods, like sunscreen, to prevent that damage from happening in the first place,” he says.
“Traditional road builds are doomed to fail, it doesn’t matter how good you build it, because of the sun. UV rays go into the surface and can start to oxidise road layers, causing microscopic cracks. This can lead to water penetration, erosion and ultimately deterioration.”
Using innovative material science as its building block, Komobility has developed a variety of solutions, all of which are cold-based, that differ from current emulsion-centric remedies.
“Every single one of our products was designed primarily with sustainability in mind,” Nadri says. “Everything we do is cold, reducing the energy consumption and emitting of CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions required to use our products.”
This cold application method is a key differentiator from traditional, hot asphalt-based road maintenance techniques.
Each of Komobility’s offerings also contain at least 70 per cent recycled material, including reclaimed asphalt, reducing the reliance on mining and extracting new raw materials.
Nadri says Komobility’s focus is on developing and delivering a genuine and impactful approach to sustainability in road maintenance.
“By maintaining the road through preventative maintenance, you can save significantly on resources and cost. Our product, KomoRoad, is a one-millimetre liquid that has two main features, the first being its ability to resist harmful UV rays and the second being water resistance,” he says.
“By resisting both of these factors, you’re effectively able to maintain the condition of the road over a longer period of time. This is particularly important in a country like Australia that has a lot of UV and considerable rainfall.”
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Komobility’s KomoRoad, or the ‘Road Sunscreen method’, is a single component, black polymeric bitumen compound that acts as a seal and oxidisation preventor for asphalt surfaces. Suitable for roadways, airport runways, bridges, parks and more, this solution can prolong the service life of a surface by an estimated five to seven years.
On top of being resistant to chemicals, salts, acids and UV rays, Komobility’s KomoRoad is dry to touch in less than an hour of application, with the roadway also able to be opened to traffic in less than two hours, thanks to rapid curing.
“The key element is to take a holistic view on road maintenance and say, ‘why don’t we stop spending 10 billion dollars every year?’ Instead, we can do it the right way, straight off the bat,” Nadri says.
Moving forward, Komobility aims to work with local Australian companies to manufacture and distribute the products, rather than doing it itself, allowing for customisation and local ownership of the solution. This customisation includes Komobility’s capability to provide each product in different colours for bus lanes, bicycles lanes and parking areas.
“We want to help, not by establishing our own manufacturing capacity in Australia, but by providing the technology and teaching the market how to use it and make it their own. We want to bring the best research and development in the world to Australia.”
With an extensive list of applications available internationally, Komobility has also had success breaking into the Australian market.
As an LGP (Local Government Procurement) Approved Contractor, Komobility has already applied products and received certifications from Transport for NSW, Sydney Airport and a variety of mining applications domestically, with more on the way.
The materials have been applied in 50 countries globally, for over 30 years. This includes proven applications in the US, including LAX Airport, as well as Canada, Latin America, Europe, Asia and South Africa.
The KomoRoad Rejuvenator has been found to still be active and performing on a variety of road surfaces, with some surfaces benefitting 10 years after application in South Africa, Korea and the US.
Each of these products and applications are backed by global patents, as well as the highest testing certification standards from global laboratories.
Nadri says Komobility sees significant potential in the large size of the Australian road maintenance market, and Komobility’s potential of becoming one of the leaders in sustainable road maintenance solutions.
He adds that the first step is advocating for a proactive, preventive maintenance strategy, rather than the reactive, repair-focused approach common in the industry.
“It’s extremely exciting, the prospect of introducing something that’s never existed before into a new market,” Nadri says. “What we’re really looking for is collaboration, so we can influence positive change across the sector.”
Visit komobilityroads.com.au for more information.
This article was originally published in the April edition of our magazine. To read the magazine, click here.
