The corrosion-proof streetlights made from polyethylene

AN ITALIAN start-up has unveiled a range of streetlights made from bio-based and recovered polyethylene, which is ultra resistant to corrosion, pollution and extreme weather.

Lorelux says its lights are vandal-proof, 100% eco-sustainable and have a lifetime of at least 50 years.

The material allows infinite custom design possibilities, customisable designs in any shape and colour.

The material was developed in collaboration with the Technologies Design and Materials European Research Centre in Brindisi and the lights are manufactured using what Lorelux describes as an innovative manufacturing technique.

The luminaires are aimed at applications in polluted cities or close to the sea, rivers, or lakes, precisely because of their resistance to corrosion.

Already, the lights has been specified for the historical centres of Sirmione, a city overlooking Lake Garda, and Vieste, on the Adriatic Sea.

Lorelux says that a recent study shows that it’s possible to produce polyethylene derived from clean and homogeneous production waste or selected and post-consumer polyethylene.

‘The use of secondary raw materials means minimum waste’ technical director Giuseppe Vendramin told the Circular Lighting Report. ‘Therefore it’s a perfect way to apply the circular economy model in the public lighting sector.

‘There are no design or colour limits and it’s possible to mould this material into the most imaginative and original shapes.’

Lorelux was born out of Niteko, an early pioneer in LED lighting. In 2007, its founders were the first to show, at an IEEE international conference, street lighting prototypes with high power LEDs.

‘For us, a luminaire is not an end point,’ says Lorelux, ‘but a means to interpret citizens’ needs. It is a whole between functionality and beauty allowing us to give value to the lighting experience, for a city able to feel the needs of its citizens and to translate them into light’.