UK/INTERNATIONAL. The Open World Technology Group (TOWTG) has declared its intention to target the worldwide airport market with a complete sanitising solution – known as Velvet2030 – which has been developed in response to the coronavirus pandemic and to keep viruses, bacteria and odours at bay.
The creators believe it can play a vital role in restoring confidence that airport spaces are safe for staff and passengers, speeding the return to normality.
Velvet2030 has been developed following extensive research and input from environmental experts in the Energy Safety Research Institute (ESRI) at Swansea University in Wales and the University of Arizona in the US. Elements of the system are currently being tested at London Heathrow Airport.
With the COVID-19 vaccination programme well underway in the UK and other countries across the world, TOWTG – part of SIA Holdings – said that businesses now have to promote confidence and plan for the return of employees to their places of work and for when consumers start to travel in large numbers once again.
As well as airports, TOWTG has focused its solution – which features cutting-edge nanotechnology – in high footfall areas, which include hospitals, train stations, hospitality venues, offices, schools and universities to make sure these environments are permanently clean and healthy.
TOWTG cites research which has shown that poor indoor air quality is the fourth largest risk to health in the UK and a report by DEFRA shows this impacts its economy by an estimated £2.7 billion (US$3.69 billion) a year, due to lower productivity. Furthermore, the CBI reported in 2020 that illness from “dirty air” in buildings costs UK employees £990 million (US$1.35 billion) annually in lost wages.
The successful management of indoor environments has a direct impact on health, safety, productivity and comfort and is critical for the wellbeing of both customers and staff, TOWTG said.
The nanotechnology application used by Velvet2030 uses an invisible coating on treated surfaces. The photo-catalytic surface creates powerful oxidisers from oxygen and humidity that neutralises viruses; eats air pollution; inhibits algae, mould and bacteria; prevents biofilms from gluing inorganic dirt to surfaces; and allows water to run off, making treated surfaces self-cleaning.
This process also encompasses a ‘visual compliance technology’, making it easy to spot areas which have been treated effectively and those which haven’t. One application of this process has a 12-month life cycle, its creators claim.
Once treated, Velvet2030 technology checks pollution and cleanliness using cloud-based monitors within a building, constantly reviewing the location and the air quality within it. Stakeholders are then alerted if there are adverse changes to Interior Air Quality (IAQ), via a bespoke online dashboard. The cleaning regime has been verified to global best-in-class standards, TOWTG said.
TOWTG Co-founder Saad Audeh said: “We are in a decade where greater focus on cleanliness is vital. It is paramount that companies futureproof their environments to make them as clean, safe and healthy as possible so as to maximise confidence in employees and customers, and encourage their return to normality.”
His Co-founder Mike Reeves added: “This eco-technology also creates a substantial return on investment via improved customer confidence and satisfaction. The beauty of this system is that it allows stakeholders to quantify any risk immediately, by watching live data at all times, monitor how buildings are performing and how safe they are and, where necessary, put in place the necessary measures to improve air quality and reassure staff and customers.”
TOWTG is already collaborating with companies including Campbell Gray Hospitality, BAM Royal Group to service Heathrow Airport’s commitment to improve air in relation to tunnels and structures, and Riverstone Living, a retirement home developer in London, which has an emphasis on quality-of-living using clean air technology.
The Open World Technology Group (www.towtg.com) can be contacted at mreeves@towtg.com
* Watch out for an in-depth follow up interview by The Moodie Davitt Report with the founders of The Open World Technology Group, which will feature insights into how Velvet2030 could transform the approach of airports to cleaning and air quality processes.
