London-based tech firm Pluvo has launched Pluvo Column, an innovative 'air purification totem' that can be encased in Out Of Home advertising as it cleans one cubic metre of polluted air per second.
The company is now looking to roll out its first commercial Pluvo Columns in the UK after a successful trial with InnovateUK and Land Securities that demonstrated the columns can purify large volumes of air safely and efficiently.
“Air Pollution is the single biggest environmental threat to global health,” says the company. “At Pluvo, we develop and deploy solutions that actively monitor and remove airborne pollutants from the built environment at scale, helping our partners create healthier and safer spaces for us all.
“Pluvo’s flagship product, the Pluvo Column, is an air purification totem that can be installed in any urban space with access to mains power. The Pluvo Column not only produces over 2,000 breaths of clean air per second, it also monitors and tracks the local air quality.
“All of this air purification technology is encased in an engaging Out Of Home advertising medium, allowing our brand partners to help fund Pluvo’s clean-air service while taking steps to fulfill their own CSR objectives and promote their brand.”
The Pluvo Column breathes in the surrounding polluted air and purifies it via a 3 stage scrubbing process using best-in-class technology that eliminates harmful airborne Particulate Matter (PM), targeted gases (e.g. Nitrous Oxides), and viruses with up to 99.5% efficiency.
“Each Pluvo Column has its own internal air quality monitoring system that both measures its own performance as well as the local air quality. Data collected by each Pluvo Column is sent wirelessly in real-time to Pluvo’s cloud-based online platform where trends can be visualized, and air quality insights generated for local landowners.”
Pluvo CEO Matteo Maccario told UK’s Design Week the company is seeking to roll out its futuristic columns across pollution hotspots including airports, rail stations and roadside locations. “The most effective places to have these columns are areas where you have high levels of harmful air pollution along with high occupancy or visitation from people, for example transport hubs. The more enclosed a space is, the less local air circulation, and the greater the impact.”
A normal day’s exposure to London air can be the equivalent of smoking 15 cigarettes, according to Pluvo. “In the UK, air pollution causing negative health effects costs the NHS £20 billion every year and contributes to 40,000 premature deaths.”
