About

Green City Parking – Robotic Parking Systems (GcP) Private Company noted the economic, environmental and social problems caused by the inadequacy of parking spaces on the road network of almost all urban agglomerations, as well as their negative impact on the formation of a sustainable city. Then it reacted developing an intelligent mechanical vehicle parking system with which it is possible to create parking spaces that are advantageous in many respects, both in terms of user service and capacity. It concerns Green City Parking (GcP) with units consisting of a metal tower with suspended horizontal flat access vehicle parking platforms, rotating vertically around the tower through an electromechanical fully automatic kinematics system. An AI-based central parking management unit interconnecting the coordination center, end users, customers and all involved public authorities or services through a state-of-the-art smart application toolkit supplements the system. The system is offered in two types: Ercole (exclusively for city cars) & Atlas (for mega cars) with units of 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 & 18 parking spaces each one, for above-ground or underground parking spaces. The parking areas are constantly monitored 24/7 in real time and controlled remotely, while their maintenance is undertaken by accredited staff.

Solution & Product

The GcP system is suitable for both small plots of >35 sq.m. as well as large parking sites, e.g. of airports, passenger ports and marinas, railway stations, hospitals, shopping or exhibition centers, factories, stadiums etc. A GcP unit, regardless of its capacity, occupies an area of ~ 2 parking spaces, creating multiplicate than the usual spaces in new parking spaces or multiplying by a factor of 3 to 9 the capacity of existing parking sites and thus offering a more efficient solution to the problem of parking. The overall package of the GcP system consists of the hardware "Industrial Innovative Electromechanical System for the Creation & Multiplication of Parking Spaces", the software "Innovative integrated management of parking spaces through the Internet of Things (IoT), with the prospect of using AI in the context of smart cities operation / GcP smart applications toolkit" (provided by Green City Construction & Software), continuous 24/7 and real-time monitoring services, remote control and maintenance (from Green City Coordination – Parking Support Centers), investment plans and operational management throughout the life cycle of the project (from Green City Applications – Ingenious Parking Management), customers and users relations management, commercial exploitation of sites, ecosystem development and co-operation with other businesses (from Green City Parking Club).

Innovation & Scalability

The GcP system aims to serve Mobility as a Service (MaaS) to be achieved by means of its integrated innovations. Being entirely prefabricated, the final product can be assembled on-site within a week and can be replaced and relocated as needed each time. It is supported by a built-in parking management software and the support control center with continuous 24/7 real-time remote monitoring. The shallow prefabricated foundation allows flat horizontal access for vehicles and pedestrians (without ramps, steps etc.). It provides fast automatic self-service check-in/out, unique insurance against theft or damage and options for users thanks to the interconnection of many parking sites. Thanks to its innovative elements and the research of its staff, the GcP system is characterized by multilevel scalability. From a business point of view it allows the development of a dynamic and scalable ecosystem of companies to provide various related services to users and partners. Furthermore, it is not limited to local development. Technologically it is constantly evolving with new innovations, such as the use of lightweight, ecological and recyclable materials, its equipment with CO2 absorption panels and the conversion of solar energy into electricity for its own consumption and the charging of electric vehicles, etc. resulting in minimizing its ecological footprint.

Traction & achievements

The company has succeeded, since 2019, the transformation of the patented technology and the design into a functional prototype that has secured all the necessary certifications. It disposes 11 registered logos and the following 3 innovation patents: -tΟΒΙ 1007546 under the title: Metal parking system (parking wheel) of 6 or 8 or 10 or 12 passenger cars" (exclusive exploitation). -tΟΒΙ 1010651 under the title: Level access of cars and drivers to a vertical electromechanical rotary mechanism creating and alternating parking spaces. -tΟΒΙ 1010659 under the title: Underground electromechanical vertical rotary system creating and multiplying vehicle parking spaces. In addition, patents are under approval for: a) the Operational Centre for the Coordination of Electromechanical Systems and Parking Space Management, b) the Automated operation of vertical rotary mechanism for creating and alternating parking spaces, c) the Integrated Management Platform for all types of parking spaces. The company and its products are certified according to ISO 9001: 2015 & ISO 13857/2019 and CE respectively. It is the only Greek startup that has submitted a comprehensive business plan to support its application for «E.I.C. / Horizon Accelerator 2021». It disposes also approved projects to be funded by greek funding actions under "Greece 2.0".

Team & Why Us

The company's executives have remarkable experience in their respective field as, indicatively: its founder Hercules Spanos, civil engineer, entrepreneur with know-how in the development and international marketing of mechanical products, its president Christos Folias, economist, businessman – former MEP, MP, deputy minister and minister, Leandros Slavis, civil engineer with significant experience in concession projects management and parking development. The company collaborates with the: -tPhysical Metallurgy Lab of the Mechanical Engineering Department of the Polytechnic School of the AUTh. -tLab of Structural Analysis & Dynamics of Structures of the Civil Engineering Department of the Polytechnic School of the AUTh. -tDepartment of Information and Electronic Engineering of the IHU -tInformation Technologies Institute of the CERTH. -tLab of Behavioral Engineering & Analytics for Marketing Management of Business Administration Department of the UoM. -tAdditive Manufacturing Lab of the Department of Chemistry of the School of Sciences of the IHU. The GcP system is a reliable and economical solution thanks to its technological and operational advantages, mainly as a directly applicable solution to a pressing problem, not requiring a one-off large investment, but staggered depending on demand due to the possibility of gradual installation of GcP units, and taking advantage of the revenues of the units in operation.

Funding Needs

The company's financing needs are on two levels. The first is internal, i.e. the development of its productive infrastructure, with the financing of the following: 1) Technological and environmental upgrading of both the office buildings and the production line. 2) Further strengthening of the Research and Development department along with its relocation to the facilities of the 4th Generation Technological Innovation Park « Thess Intec » in Thessaloniki. 3) Backlog implementation. The second level is the development of a network of parking sites that will create demand for the products and services of the company's ecosystem. The parking sites will be launched mainly by the State and the Local Government Organizations which, however, do not have the necessary resources; so the only solution is to develop them either through Concession Agreements or through PPP Contracts, which require the provision of the necessary funds (own and loan) by private investors. Due to the series prefabrication of the GcP units and their single central operational service unit, the rapid start of a return on investment in parking sites with a GcP system, makes investment in them very attractive. This is contributed by the reasonable amount of the investment, the possibility of its gradual realization in combination with the possible contribution to it of the revenues of its initial stages, but mainly the high expected IRR and competitive return on investment (ROI).