Road salt may not be the direct cause of rust. But it is a factor. A factor that a new material made from invasive starfish might change.
The starfish species Asterias amurensis, which lives in e.g. Japan, is nothing more than an invasive species. But now it might help to reduce rust in Danish cars.
Or at least reduce the risk of rust. This is the opinion of the company LyonInvest, which has developed the product Eco-ST. A substance that can replace salt and gravel, which are currently used to combat slippery roads in Denmark.
The company believes that the product, which is based on the invasive sorrel, can keep asphalt roads free of ice and slush down to minus 35 degrees.
That's what Motormagasinet writes.
– With our product, we offer an environmentally friendly solution for road maintenance, says LyonInvest founder Anthony Nyambura.
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In addition, Nyambura and the other people behind the alternative to road salt claim that the product is 166 percent more effective than just road salt. Like the corrosion rate is 0.8 percent. There is a maximum requirement of 30 percent for environmentally friendly two-components.
At home, Eco-ST actually already exists. It has been sold since autumn 2023. But there are bigger plans. Among other things, about a production facility in Sweden, where a municipality has also been contracted to test the product on the roads over the coming winter.
There is plenty of rust out there. At least if you ask some of our other Nordic neighbours. In Norway, a rust protection company, for example, believes that Denmark's most popular car is a definite rust trap. Read more about it here .