This project, identified among those presented at Switch2Product at PoliHub in Milan, can really innovate the shipping universe, characterised today by a waste of space, resources and emissions.
Chief Executive Officer Lorenzo Rossi: “Let’s activate synergies to face the great challenges of the future related to mobility and environmental and social sustainability’”.
Carlo Villani, Chief Executive Officer of OptiPack: “We are confident that this newborn cooperation will lead to better optimisation for Italian logistics and mobility, with a view to a better and more sustainable future”.
MOVYON, the Autostrade per l’Italia Group’s technology operator for sustainable mobility, continues its path of investing in and promoting open innovation initiatives capable of contributing to environmental and social sustainability not only on motorways, but also in urban areas.
With this in mind, on the occasion of the 13th edition of Switch2Product | Innovation Challenge, the programme that enhances innovative solutions, new technologies and business ideas proposed by students and graduates, researchers students and professors at Politecnico di Milano (organised by PoliHub, Technology Transfer Office (TTO) and Deloitte), MOVYON awarded a grant of EUR 30,000 to the OptiPack start-up of young researchers for its innovative adaptive packaging solution.
The project is designed to improve the organisation of goods shipments by optimising the loads of both the heavy goods vehicles that most affect the motorway network and the vehicles involved in the delivery of the so-called “last mile” that has the greatest impact on urban centres.
OptiPack’s journey started from a contextual analysis in which logistics fleets circulate with under-utilised loads: it is estimated that each vehicle can transport 25% more goods than is actually the case. This, In addition to resulting in an increased expenditure for companies (+EUR 46 billion estimated), causes a considerable increase in emissions.
Leveraging artificial intelligence techniques and advanced robotics mechanisms, Optipack is designed to create “adaptive” packaging to drastically reduce packaging material waste and optimise shipments. The consequences of using this technology would lead to important benefits on several levels: optimisation of logistics, reduction of CO2 emissions, reduction of packaging material waste, safer packaging and cost savings. MOVYON will collaborate with the start-up in the definition of mobility-related use cases and contribute to the creation of the prototype.
“We have launched several initiatives with universities, research centres, trade associations and start-ups”, explained Lorenzo Rossi, Chief Executive Officer of MOVYON, “with the aim of creating synergies to address the great challenges of the future related to mobility and environmental and social sustainability. The selected project brings innovation in the field of freight logistics that has a strong impact on environmental pollution levels, infrastructure wear and tear, and road user safety. We believe that tangible results, which meet both the requirements of sustainability and timeliness of the delivery service, can only be achieved by strategically locating the logistics hubs in relation to the main national mobility arteries, and by creating a logistics ecosystem that operates synergistically”.
“We thank MOVYON for awarding us the grant”, stated Carlo Villani, Chief Executive Officer of OptiPack, “we are confident that this fledgling collaboration will lead to better optimisation for Italian logistics and mobility, with a view to a more sustainable future”.