First glow in the dark highway unveiled in The Netherlands

Interactive artist Daan Roosegaarde has unveiled glow in the dark road markings on a 500 m stretch of highway in the Netherlands.

The paint contains a “photo-luminising” powder that charges up in the daytime and slowly releases a green glow at night, doing away with the need for streetlights.

Daan Roosegaarde teamed up with Dutch civil engineering company Heijmans to work on the idea.

The technology is being tested with an official launch due later this month.

It is the first time “glowing lines” technology has been piloted on the road and can be seen on the N329 in Oss, approximately 100km south east of Amsterdam.

Once the paint has absorbed daylight it can glow for up to eight hours in the dark.

Daan Roosegaarde’s projects aim to help people and technology to interact. His past projects have included a dance floor with built-in disco lights powered by dancers’ foot movements, and a dress that becomes see-through when the wearer is aroused.

Heijmans was already working on projects involving energy-neutral streetlights when Daan Roosegaarde teamed up with the company.

The company says that the glow in the dark technology is also “a sustainable alternative to places where no conventional lighting is present”.

Initially the team also had plans to develop weather symbols that appeared on the road once the temperature reached a certain level. A temperature-sensitive paint mixture would be used to create giant snow flake-shaped symbols on the tarmac to warn users that the road may be icy.

The current stretch of glow in the dark road in Oss does not include this temperature sensitive technology.

It is a pilot project at this stage and is expected to expand internationally later this year. Dutch media report that Heijmans is keen to use the paint on other roads but has not yet negotiated any contracts.