Intelligent wondering: Atlantia turns to website traffic tech after Italy motorway exit

The symbol of Italian infrastructure group Atlantia is seen outside its headquarters in Rome, Italy, October 5, 2020. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

MILAN, March 9 (Reuters) – Obtaining sold its motorway company in Italy, Atlantia (ATL.MI) is investing in clever website traffic technological know-how to enable push advancement of cleaner transportation and open up new marketplaces these as the United States.

Controlled by the Benetton household, the infrastructure team is looking for to lastly set at the rear of it a dispute triggered by the deadly collapse of a motorway bridge operated by its Autostrade for every l’Italia small business in Genoa in 2018.

It offered that small business and has began applying some of the 8 billion euro ($8.7 billion) proceeds expected in the coming months from the transaction to develop into good website traffic tech.

In January, it bought Siemens Yunex Website traffic division for 950 million euros – a shift that created it the only significant motorway operator in Europe with a wise site visitors business enterprise.

Now, as first mover, it has the prospect to increase this organization and consolidate a fragmented market.

The business, which will update investors about its upcoming approach on March 11, sees the site visitors technological innovation company as crucial in its have suitable but also complementary to its current operations.

“The worth of any freeway and airport small business without technology is destined to slide. In 5-6 years this could come to be another main small business of Atlantia,” a supply acquainted with the issue said.

Atlantia’s main operations are motorways, airports and digital toll payment business Telepass. The team controls Spanish freeway operator Abertis, operates a sequence of airports in Italy and France, has a 15% stake in channel tunnel operator Getlink (GETP.PA) and owns 51% of Telepass.

The supply explained the group was scouting bolt-on technology alternatives like unique objective acquisition providers (SPACs) owned by non-public fairness or spun-off ancillary companies designed internally by groups like BMW and Bosch.

Yunex will make it possible for Atlantia to realize promptly the current market in which it competes with all-around 300 other wise tech teams, the supply reported.

“Carmakers could be interesting associates supplied the apparent synergies,” the source explained.

PLUGGED IN

Atlantia’s push comes as governments all-around the planet seem to higher tech to cut automobile congestion and air pollution to make massive cities additional liveable and enterprises more effective.

Plugging in visitors data companies and connecting up vehicles will enable vehicles to map their have routes to lower vacation moments and carbon emissions and give metropolis administrators extra bang for the buck from current infrastructure.

Less than stress from the European Union to cut emissions, many European towns will require technological innovation to optimise targeted traffic flows.

“The finest route will be preferred by the car and not Google Maps – irrespective of whether that is with or without the need of a driver,” the supply claimed.

Yunex, which operates in far more than 500 cities throughout the world, has designed a raft of products and services like a technique where by visitors lights, cameras and sensors relay data to a manage home that crunches the knowledge to lower congestion and mishaps.

In the western German town of Wiesbaden, a Yunex method released in November with federal government funding offers drivers route and speed tips on digital roadside shows controlled by a traffic administration centre.

The Wiesbaden handle home can control flows to simplicity site visitors jams on main streets or give precedence to community transport buses, ambulances and hearth engines.

EYES ON America

Atlantia claimed in January it expected the Smart Transportation Systems (ITS) market place to expand at an normal charge of 10% a yr to 2026 underpinned by a world wide shift in the direction of a lot more sustainable transport.

It is banking on the move to open up up new organization traces within cities throughout the world including Latin America, the place its Abertis subsidiary has a potent presence even though outdoors metropolitan parts, and the United States.

ITS technology will be essential to established up tolling systems and to analyse and manage traffic volumes.

“The U.S. sector is particularly interesting supplied the need for innovation technology to map connections concerning airports and highways,” a next source reported.

Yunex is now working in U.S. metropolitan areas like Boston and counties like Miami-Dade in Florida the place it offers its website traffic administration program.

The 2nd supply mentioned the company could supply double the returns of Atlantia’s regular motorway concession business.

In Europe, Atlantia ideas to replicate Yunex functions in its most important geographic markets – Italy, France and Spain – by providing services to keep track of urban traffic and take care of highway intersections and tunnels both of those on its community and on other clients’ infrastructures.

Getlink could develop into 1 of Yunex’s new customers, a 3rd supply reported. Two of the sources extra that Atlantia, which has not manufactured any general public statement on its intentions, was weighing alternatives to maximize its stake in the channel tunnel operator.

In January, Atlantia stated it anticipated income at Yunex to get to 1 billion euros in the following 5 decades from 635 million euros previous calendar year.

The change to tech, which includes Atlantia’s modern investment decision in electrical air taxi maker Volocopter, could also decrease the regulatory risk related with the group’s portfolio of concession-dependent corporations.

“Next the bridge disaster, it is now apparent to everyone that the regulatory hazard is challenging to evaluate and deal with,” a further source common with the group’s tactic stated.

($1 = .9192 euros)

Reporting by Francesca Landini and Stephen Jewkes
Enhancing by Keith Weir and Jane Merriman

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Rely on Rules.