PROJECTS

ARCHIMEDES BRIDGE Since its foundation, Ponte di Archimede International S.p.A. has been working towards the development and project of a submerged floating tunnel called Archimede's Bridge. The Archimede's Bridge is an innovative concept: an environmentally-friendly crossing, exploiting the principles of hydrostatic thrust and based on a calculation first developed by Archimedes, the scientist genius from Syracuse, in the third century BC. With this highly advanced type of construction, it is possible to design shore-to-shore links across straits, lakes or rivers, in places where such projects had hitherto been ruled out on economic and technical grounds.

FUEL CELLS The TEA Project has already been responsible for the construction of a pilot-plant for the serial production of fuel cells with gas diffusion electrodes. This new generation of electrodes, the result of a revolutionary technique of platinum coating, has lower costs compared to those of more advanced products now on the market. The pilot-plant's radical innovations affect the technological production process of such components, with consequent lowering of costs and overheads, whilst at the same time guaranteeing a high-quality finished product. This project is being carried out in collaboration with the National Research Council.

KOBOLD The Enermar project is aimed at exploiting the energy cointained within the marine currents through the use of an innovative patented Kobold turbine. The convenience of this type of renewable energy has been tested, and compares favourably with other types of environmentally-friendly energy such as solar and wind energy. Ponte di Archimede International has carried out field research and experiments by erecting a platform equipped with a patented Kobold turbine in the Strait of Messina. In this way the Company has been able to be gain the know-how needed to harness the energy produced by marine currents in the best possible way, thanks also to the collaboration from several European partners. Furthermore, a number of studies have been made to identify other sites in Europe suitable for producing electrical energy generated by marine currents. Together with the Institute of Energy Conversion of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, studies regarding the application of the ENERMAR system are currently in progress in the Strait of Jintang (Zhoushan Archipelago), People's Republic of China.

REVMA The REVMA project is creating a hydrodynamic tunnel for the experimentation of various models of keels, hulls, propellers, turbines and all other components that need hydrodynamic testing.