Some commuters driving the freeways of the Netherlands are being treated to a new type of highway.

The “Smart Highway”, as the designers at Studio Roosegaarde are calling it, aims to change the way roads in Europe work completely. The Smart Highway eliminates the bright streetlights that accompany most roadways. This new highway does so with photo-luminescent dynamic paints that make the tarmac charge during the daytime, and glow brightly for up to 10 hours at night. Almost just like the glow-in-the-dark stars I had on my ceiling as a child.

Replacing most highways with the new Smart Highway could help cut down energy use and light pollution at the same time. In a tightly packed continent like Europe, they could use less of both.

Currently, there is already a 500 meter stretch of highway in the Netherlands using this technology. The project aims to go international this year.