Mercury Programme

Mercury. Smart Sustainable Mobility

The Programme

INNOVATION

SECURITY

SUSTAINABILITY

With the Mercury Programme. Smart Sustainable Mobility , Autostrade per l'Italia group is working to build a large unitary and coordinated hub for technological innovation to guarantee safer infrastructures and play a leading role in the revolution that decarbonisation, digitisation and new transport services are bringing to all mobility systems.

Mercury is structured in 5 clusters covering all areas of environmental sustainability and technological development of the network.
Macro-projects carried out by Autostrade per l'Italia, in collaboration with its subsidiaries:

The programme will make it possible to modernise assets and extend their useful life, to fluidify traffic by increasing safety, and to intensively contribute to the process of decarbonisation and energy transition, bringing significant benefits to the community and the environment.

Mercury has solid financial foundations in Autostrade per l'Italia's Business Plan, with considerable benefits in terms of employment and the economy for the entire country system.

Each cluster consists of a set of solid macro-projects, some undergoing the testing phase and others the roll-out phase

Digitisation and modernisation of infrastructures to enable the implementation of advanced technological solutions, to collect and exchange new information

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Innovative solutions for improving traffic flow through the implementation of intelligent road systems

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Digitisation and automation of collection systems to enable new pricing models

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Solutions to enhance environmental sustainability, generate energy from renewable sources and build an infrastructure to enable new mobility services

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New services and innovative solutions geared towards the end user and Public Administrations managing mobility in metropolitan areas

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Digitised structure for accurate and continuous road health monitoring

High-capacity connection available across the entire the network

Infrastructure enabled for secure transport of large amounts of data

A project that implements the systems enabling all other initiatives, the creation of services that improve mobility and the coordinated management of information and road operations. It therefore encompasses all projects that include both the infrastructure and the technologies capable of detecting, transmitting and processing data from the network in real time and enabling all subsystems within the V2X (vehicle to everything) connectivity

Initiatives

Description

Implementation of access network and adjustment of network equipment

Project involving the construction of the new fibre-optic access network over 3,000 km, which entails the supply and installation of new equipment along the network

Network Security Interventions

Introduction of new firewalls at SDs and peripheral sites, IoT protection devices and probes for monitoring, enabling the introduction of systems and solutions for network traffic segmentation and monitoring

Adjustment of station and tunnel systems

Toll collection support services, video surveillance and analysis of video streams are provided by IT equipment to ensure the compliance of communication equipment with technological developments related to other innovative initiatives and especially at station record rooms and tunnel electrical substations

Accident reduction

Shorter travel time (driving experience)

Predictive Maintenance of Structures

Connected Mobility Services (CCAM)

A set of initiatives aimed at improving traffic safety, control and quality of traffic and mobility, monitoring road infrastructure assets (bridges, viaducts, tunnels), informing and assisting users right from the trip planning stage.

Initiatives

Description

C-ITS

The C-ITS project is mainly intended for road users. Information will be transmitted to vehicles via RSUs installed at the roadside. This service will allow transmitting information concerning a list of important services for both travel and network management, which can inform the driver directly from the vehicle. Therefore, the aim is to increase user safety and reduce road congestion.

Smart Road Interventions

Improving communications with infrastructure, event management, and therefore safety, and traffic flow through innovative systems for vehicle tracking, dynamic weighbridges, tutors and traffic analysis site planning

Asset monitoring and management

Innovative management of assets under concession and valorisation of data assets. Integration with the IoT of the data sent by the sensors installed on the infrastructure, which will provide further information to support the operator in analysing the state of the work and planning interventions.

Physical security

Ensuring, through technological innovation, the upgrading and digitisation of security subsystems and, above all, the implementation of a centralised supervision system

Increasing toll lane availability

Digitisation of the payment experience and dematerialisation of tickets

User-friendly payment interface

Reducing queues at toll stations

This cluster is aimed at making toll payment mechanisms more flexible and efficient in order to: simplify payment operations and transform the toll collection system into a pricing tool, useful for reducing congestion, encouraging sustainable behaviour and multi-modality.

Initiatives

Description

Station 2.0

The Pista 2.0 project is part of the technological evolution programme undertaken by ASPI, involving the introduction of new hardware and software solutions for the control of toll collection operations and the introduction of a new customer interface in the automatic toll lanes (Cards, Viacard). The project is being developed in cooperation with Movyon

FTX Cashback

This project provides for the reimbursement of part of the toll if certain criteria are met, e.g., linked to the presence of construction sites increasing travel time over a specific road section

Ticket dematerialisation

This intervention aims to eliminate the paper ticket at tool booths, implying benefits in terms of reduction of the time needed for transit both entering and exiting the motorway, simplification of the collection facilities, lower cost for the management of the automatic collection and its maintenance, possibility of a simplified interface with the customer and consequent benefits in terms of reduction of polluting emissions.

Innovative smart tolling solutions

Exploiting innovative technologies to enable customers to pay the toll without having to stop at the tool booth

Non-stop circulation along the network for zero-emission vehicles

Sustainability of the motorway network through the production and use of clean energy

Reducing pollution by improving the quality of life of the community

This cluster covers the motorway network innovations needed to accompany the energy transition of the road infrastructure and the vehicles travelling on it, through the progressive installation of high-intensity electric charging stations and other initiatives including the production of electricity through the installation of photovoltaic panels along the areas surrounding the motorway to reach the NET ZERO target.

Initiatives

Description

Electricity recharge plan in Service Areas by Free To X

Free To X implements the infrastructure plan in Service Areas with high-power charging stations on 100 of the Group's 217 Service Areas. FTX operates the stations as Charging Point Operator, making the infrastructure and management available to all interested electric mobility operators (MSPs)

Energy production from renewable sources (Elgea)

Construction of photovoltaic systems with an installed capacity of 300MW

Energy Management

Interventions on lighting systems serving: tunnels, interchange area ramps and service areas, toll station forecourts and service area forecourts (e.g., re-lamping of forecourts and high-mast lighting, lighting and LED tunnels)

Alternative integrated mobility solutions to create value for the community

Reducing congestion in urban centres

Reducing fuel consumption and emissions while ensuring significant savings for users

This cluster consists of systems enabling the integration of motorway mobility with that of metropolitan areas through travel 'customization'. Projects that aim to provide users with alternatives modes of transport when they reach the urban area.

Initiatives

Description

Smart City Genoa Project

Development of solutions for the municipality enabling traffic and access monitoring, and value-added services for citizens. Potential creation of an integrated mobility platform to offer services directly to citizens with information, booking and payment applications for Smart solutions designed for the city