PC Pro - UK 2021-12)

@PCPRO FACEBOOK.COM/PCPRO

FuturesGreenstartups

“Thereisacollective

responsibilitytoactto

protectassetsofvalue–

includingthegreatestone

weshare,ourplanet”

temperatures,makingiteasierto
mitigatesuchrisksaswellasto
convincetheC-suitethatit’stimeto
takeactiononprotectingassetsas
wellastheplanet.
“Whenanentireecosystemcansee
theriskonsharedassetsofinterest,
thereisacollectivemotivationand
responsibilitytoacttoprotectthose
assetsofvalue–includingthegreatest
oneweshare,ourplanet,”saidIggy
Bassi,founderandCEO.
TheCervestplatformpullsin
historicalandcurrentclimatedata,
usingmachinelearninganddata
modellingtoapplyittophysicalassets
suchas offices,warehousesand
factories.I thenoffersa prediction
aboutwhatcouldgowrong.“Simply
stated,climateintelligenceisbusiness
intelligenceformanagingclimate
risk,”Bassiadded.
Sofar,accesstotheplatformis
invitation only,butthecompanyis
hopingtomakeitwidelyavailable
toanyonesoon.

CIRCULOR
We’vegotSoftware-as-a-Serviceand
Infrastructure-as-a-Service;now
there’sTraceability-as-a-Service.
CirculorusesTaaStotrackmaterials
throughcomplexinternational
supplychains,ensuringthey’re
sourcedresponsiblyand thatcarbon
emissions canbeaccurately
calculated.Forthis,theLondon-based
startupusesblockchain — meaning
someone’s finallyfounda usefor
thedigital ledgertechnology at the
heartofBitcoin,anditcouldhavea
positiveimpact,too.
“Wegivematerialsa unique digital
identity,andtrackthemastheyflow
throughthesupplychain,andasthey
changestatethroughprocessingand
manufacture,”saidDougJohnson-
Poensgen,CEOandco-founder of
Circulor.“Thisprovidesvisibility
insupply chains,allowing
manufacturerstomeasurerelated
carbonemissionsandensure
responsiblesourcing.”
Hegivesasanexamplecobalt,a
techingredientknowntocomefrom
troublingsources, notablychild
miningintheCongo.“Ifweknowthat
onetonneofcobaltoreisenteringthe
processat therefinery,thenweknow
thata certainamountofcobalt
hydroxideissupposedtoleave that
facility,”hesaid.“Thisallowsusto
understandtherelatedcarbon

emissions,andalso

flaganyanomaliesin

outputs.Thesemight

pointtocobaltof

unknownprovenance

beingused–

potentiallywithissues

aroundresponsible

sourcing,

suchas

childlabour,

forexample.”

Thecompanyisalreadyworking

withVolvo’sbatterysupplychainfor

theXC40RechargeP8electriccar.

HARK

Leeds-basedHarkusesthe Internetof

Thingstoanalyseindustrialassetsto

makesurethey’reperformingas

energy-efficiently as possible,while

alsokeepinganeye on maintenance

andregulatorcompliance.That

includes controllingenergystorage

systems,suchasbatteries,so

companies canbettermakeuseof

renewableenergysourcesthat

aren’talwaysreliable.

“Weactuallystartedthisin

thelifesciencessector,”

explainedJordan

Appleson,CEOofHark,

aslabs anddrugsneed

tobeclosely monitored

forregulatory

compliance.“Aswe

continuedtoworkon

ourtechnologyit

becameobviousthat

[it]hasa massive

opportunitytohelp

theenergy andasset-

monitoringspace,especially

giventhejourneytowards net

zerorequiresreal-timedataand

control of so manyassets,suchas

heatingsystems,energystorage

systems [and]solararrays.”

OneofHark’scustomersis

Sainsbury’s,whichbytrackingthe

energycostsof 24,0 00 assets in

real-timehasslashed4.5%offpower

costs.Next,thestartupisworking

withenergyoperatorstoenable

betteruseofrenewable power

sourcesusingsensorsandanalytics.

“Ultimately,what’snextispowering

thenet-zerotransitionthroughasset

connectivity,”saidAppleson.

CLIMATEX

Couldclimate changeaffectyour

business?ClimateX pairsreal-time

satellite data withclimate-change

modellingtocomeup withan

answer,fillinginanygapswhere

there’snotenoughinformationusing

machinelearning.

It’sessentially stress testingfor

businesses,butratherthanthinking

onlyaboutfinancials,itconsidersthe

weatheranditsimpact.“ClimateX

usesstate-of-the-artclimate

projectionsand,whereapplicable,we

downscalethemtoa highresolution

asprecise as 2kmx 2km– that’sthe

equivalentof 400 differentweather

patterns over London,”saidLukky

Ahmed,CEOandco-founder.

ClimateX is expectingto be

openforbusinessbytheendof

2021,thoughtheproof-of-

conceptprogramme is

alreadylive.

WONDRWALL

Thesmarthomehas

beena let-down,

failingtoleadtothe

energysavingsthat

couldhelpreducethe

impactsofclimate

change.Wondrwall hopes

tochangethat,using

machinelearningtoanalyse

20,000datapointsevery dayto

maximiseefficiency.Thestartup’s

lightswitch,forexample,doesn’t just

managethelighting.Ithas 13 sensors

thatmeasuremotion,humidityand

temperatureas well,linkingupwith

otherWondrwall light

switchesinyourhometo

builda mesh networkfor

monitoring,learninghow

youuseyourhome.

“Anyunoccupied

areasof thehomewill

automaticallynotbe

heatedandthevolumeof hotwater

usedwillbemonitoredtoensure

energyisn’t wastedheatingand

reheating unrequired water,”said

Jonathan Williams,marketing

directorforthe company.

ABOVEClimateXuses

satellitedatatoassist

climate-change

modellingforbusiness

BELOWHarkusesthe

InternetofThingsto

helpcompaniesslash

energycosts