Staying ahead of the technology curve means strengthening your competitive advantage. That is why we give you data-driven innovation insights into utilities. This time, you get to discover 5 hand-picked startups working on digital maintenance for utility companies.
Global Startup Heat Map highlights 5 Top Digital Maintenance Solutions impacting Utility Companies out of 1 086
The insights of this data-driven analysis are derived from the Big Data & Artificial Intelligence-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering 2 093 000+ startups & scaleups globally. The platform gives you an exhaustive overview of emerging technologies & relevant startups within a specific field in just a few clicks.
The Global Startup Heat Map below reveals the distribution of the 1 086 exemplary startups & scaleups we analyzed for this research. Further, it highlights 5 utility startups that we hand-picked based on criteria such as founding year, location, funding raised, and more. You get to explore the solutions of these 5 startups & scaleups in this report. For insights on the other 1 081 digital maintenance solutions for utility companies, get in touch.
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Optelos advances Digital Asset Inspection
Unplanned downtime and accompanying maintenance tasks incur massive losses in the utility sector. Additionally, conventional practices rely on periodic maintenance that does not take real-time asset conditions into account, which increases the chances of disruptions. Advancements in digitization, however, allow utility companies to use digital maintenance and increase operational efficiency. For instance, Internet of Things (IoT) sensors monitor power grids in real-time, allowing operators to identify fluctuations in power demands and optimize rolling blackouts.
Optelos is a US-based startup that facilitates digital asset inspection for energy utilities. The startup’s patented technology combines visual data management, data visualization, and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered computer vision to deliver targeted business insights. To achieve this, ALCHEMIZE builds digital twins of the assets, which VISUALIZE uses to create 3D models. Further, ANALYZE applies computer vision to identify issues while also providing dashboards and annotations. In effect, Optelos enables utility companies to manage, inspect, analyze, and act on digital asset information, thus reducing maintenance expenditures.
Samotics enables Predictive Maintenance for Water Utilities
Maintenance operations for underground water distribution pipelines are time- and labor-intensive. Besides, since water and sewage networks lay close, leakages in the sewage pipelines may contaminate freshwater. To tackle this issue, startups develop maintenance solutions tailored for water utility infrastructure. This way, water and sewage utilities monitor asset conditions in real-time, thereby preventing leakages.
Dutch startup Samotics enables predictive maintenance for submerged equipment, including pumps, mixers, and centrifuges. The startup’s SAM4 uses high-frequency sensors inside low-voltage motor control cabinets to monitor current and voltage. After that, its gateway performs initial processing on this data and sends it to the SAM4 platform. The self-learning AI in SAM4 processes incoming data 24/7 to detect and classify incidents, upon which data analysts receive automated flags and recommendations. Moreover, SAM4 predicts mechanical and electrical faults up to five months before the actual failure, allowing water distribution and treatment companies to mitigate catastrophic downtime and reduce environmental impacts.
mIQroTech develops a Pipeline Monitoring System
Utilities have to invest immense sums into aging infrastructure because of the lack of timely inspections and maintenance. This is due to the inability of manual upkeep methods to identify the structural integrity issues before major breakdowns. On the other hand, today’s sensors offer increased visibility into assets’ conditions by assessing various parameters such as vibration, temperature, and fluid level. This allows utility companies to detect and quantify weaknesses as well as make informed decisions for asset replacement and maintenance, thus saving capital expenses.
mIQroTech is a US-based startup that develops mIQroAware, an advanced pipeline monitoring system. mIQroAware combines IoT, AI, and data analytics to detect, analyze, and report pipeline threats in real-time. Besides, the non-intrusive wireless unit mIQroAware measures corrosion, vibration, temperature, and acoustics, among others, and uses it to predict pipeline leaks months or even years before they occur. Thus, mIQroTech’s pipeline monitoring system minimizes or nullifies detection time, leak duration, and annual cleanup costs.
EcoSense Enviro provides Asset Maintenance for Waste Management Systems
Well-laid sewage networks and solid waste management (SWM) systems are essential for sustainable and hygienic living conditions. However, population growth and consumer habits now drive massive amounts of waste into landfills. Therefore, any interruption in waste and sewage management contaminates surrounding ecosystems as well as causes diseases. Consequently, startups develop asset monitoring and maintenance solutions that enable predictive maintenance, providing timely fault detection. This way, SWM and wastewater treatment companies avoid unnecessary downtimes.
Indian startup EcoSense Enviro offers asset maintenance solutions for waste management systems. The startup’s solution integrates IoT sensors and data analytics to monitor assets based on location and operations. In addition, it tracks asset fill levels and movements which significantly reduces total managerial time. Moreover, EcoSense Enviro’s asset mapping feature gives project managers full control as well as allows them to monitor maintenance cycles and the overall asset lifecycle.
VROC Artificial Intelligence offers Predictive Analytics for Electric Grids
Not least because of the recent rise in the work-from-home lifestyle and higher reliance on the power grid for daily work-related operations, consumers’ expectations for power utilities to reduce outages and failures are rising. To this end, power utilities deploy digital solutions that offer real-time visibility into grid operations and assets, thereby improving grid demand management and asset lifetime. This further improves customer satisfaction and boosts profits.
Australian startup VROC Artificial Intelligence enables predictive maintenance for power utilities. The startup’s VROC Predict combines IoT, AI, and auto-machine learning (AutoML) to monitor processes and equipment in real-time to identify any off-spec deviations and alert users. VROC Predict’s AI model also provides root cause analysis to identify unexpected causation of errors as well as predict power outages and critical failures in the future. This reduces grid maintenance costs while optimizing field crew and asset lifespan.
Discover more Utility Startups
Startups such as the examples highlighted in this report focus on artificial intelligence, IoT, predictive maintenance as well as digital inspection. While all of these technologies play a major role in advancing utility management, they only represent the tip of the iceberg. To explore more digital maintenance solutions, simply get in touch to let us look into your areas of interest. For a more general overview, you can download one of our free Industry Innovation Reports to save your time and improve strategic decision-making.
