Standard
Fitted on new trailers or retrofitted on existing ones, with a minimal aluminium technical frame.
Aerodynamics for road transport
Trucks are cubes on wheels.
Trucks are cubes on wheels.
We make them slip through the air.
Y-stream is a textile aerodynamic device for semi-trailers. It inflates with the airflow, cuts drag by 15 % and fuel consumption by up to 10 %. Patented, validated in the wind tunnel, ready to scale.
Road freight in Europe
6.5 Mtrucks on European roads
90 %of goods carried by road
2,500 hon the road, per truck and per year
56,000 Lof fuel per truck per year (32–35 L/100 km)
The problem
Regulation shaped the truck.
Regulation shaped the truck.
Physics pays the bill.
European size limits turned trailers into boxes: the most efficient shape for loading, the worst for moving through air. A flat rear face creates a wide zone of turbulence and low pressure behind the vehicle, the wake, that literally pulls the truck backwards.
35–40 %of the energy a truck burns is spent overcoming aerodynamic drag
30–35 %of that drag is generated by the rear of the trailer alone
Wake turbulence behind a box-shaped trailer (CFD simulation)
The inflated tail closes the wake and reduces drag
The idea
A tail that inflates itself
Y-stream is a textile appendage fitted to the rear of the trailer. Above 80 km/h the relative wind inflates it into a streamlined tail that closes the wake. The inflation is purely mechanical, no motor, no electronics, and adjusts with speed. Below 80 km/h it stays flat and the trailer keeps its standard dimensions.
Profiles the rear
The tail extends the trailer's shape and lets the air close smoothly behind it.
Inflated by the airflow
Mechanical, self-adjusting inflation driven by the relative wind. Nothing to switch on.
Doors, loading and footprint: unchanged
The patented mount never gets in the way: rear doors open and close normally, loading and unloading operations are untouched, and the trailer keeps its regulatory dimensions and footprint.
Born from free flight
The concept comes from our experience of paragliding wings and harnesses: light textile structures shaped by air.
How it works
Four states, one simple system
Inactive below 80 km/h
In town and during manoeuvres the device stays flat against the rear doors.
Self-inflating
At motorway speed the airflow inflates the textile pocket into its aerodynamic shape.
Lower consumption
Drag drops, fuel consumption follows, directly, for every kilometre driven.
Why it matters
Simple, safe, ready to industrialise
total drag
Measured in wind-tunnel campaigns on 1/6-scale models, up to 10 % less energy consumed.
safety
Soft and non-blunt, the tail acts like an airbag and increases the safety distance behind the trailer.
fits the fleet
Trailer dimensions are standardised across Europe: one design, mass production, quick installation.
compliant
Designed for the new European directive on heavy-vehicle aerodynamics, to which we contribute.
Development
Regulation, design, manufacturing, tests: done
To make the project viable we created the company ease lab SAS, which carried all the first stages. Materials, technology choices and operating principles have been validated on 1/6-scale prototypes.
14prototypes built & tested
5wind-tunnel test campaigns
1patent filed
1Bpifrance innovation grant
Positive results at 1/6 scale
- Major drag reduction, validated design
- Results in line with expectations, strong energy impact
- One patent, materials, technology choices & principles validated
- European regulatory framework validated
What's next
Scale 1,
Scale 1,
then the road
The physics is proven. The next step is a full-size device on a real trailer, tested on real roads with an industrial partner. To get there we are looking for:
An industrial partner
Trailer manufacturer or body builder to build the scale-1 device.
Type standardisation
Homologation of the device by trailer type.
Financing
Road test campaigns and the pre-series.
Fleet pilots
Transport operators ready to test the device in real conditions.
The team
Two founders, one obsession: making trucks move better
Pierre Herpin
Co-founder, financial analyst
Financial structuring, business model and relations with investors and public funders.
Ivan Bellia
Co-founder, designer
Product design, prototypes and testing. A background in free flight and industrial design, at the head of the agency ease designers.
They support us
Contact
72 avenue Isola Bella, Rosella Hightower
06400 Cannes, FRANCE
info@y-stream.fr
+33 (0)6 08 28 69 39
LinkedIn
Let's talk about the next kilometre
Investor, manufacturer, fleet operator, journalist: tell us who you are and we will send you the investor deck and the full technical file.
ease lab SAS · Y-stream72 avenue Isola Bella, Rosella Hightower
06400 Cannes, FRANCE
info@y-stream.fr
+33 (0)6 08 28 69 39