Smart Building Pioneer Brivo to Become Publicly Traded Company Through Merger With Crown PropTech Acquisitions

November 28, 2021

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SMART HOME/BUILDING

Smart Building Pioneer Brivo to Become Publicly Traded Company Through Merger With Crown PropTech AcquisitionsThe leader in cloud-based access control and smart building technology with end-to-end solutions delivered through SaaS and connected devices



Serves one of the largest, most diversified global customer bases with more than 44,500 enterprise, commercial real estate and multifamily accounts and 23 million active users



Large and growing SaaS- and smart device-based total addressable market (TAM) for products and services currently in excess of $70 billion



Combined company to have an estimated enterprise value of $808 million, positioning it to further capitalize on the smart space market opportunity



Transaction to provide up to $304 million in cash proceeds, including a PIPE totaling $75 million led by Golub Capital Credit Opportunities, with a strategic investment in the PIPE from Eagle Eye Networks



Proceeds will be used to unlock growth by expanding the sales and marketing team, increasing customer acquisition, SaaS service expansion and product development



Expects to generate $417 million in revenue and $290 million in annual recurring revenue in 2025, representing 2021E to 2025E CAGRs of 55% and 70%, respectively



Investor call scheduled for November 10 at 8:00 a.m. ET



BETHESDA, Md. & NEW YORK, November 10, 2021--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Brivo, Inc., the global leader in cloud-based access control and smart building technologies, and Crown PropTech Acquisitions (NYSE:CPTK) ("Crown"), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement that will result in Brivo becoming a publicly listed company. The transaction values the company at a pro forma enterprise value of $808 million. Upon closing, the combined company will operate as Brivo, and its Class A common stock is expected to be listed under the ticker symbol "BRVS." This strategic business combination will enable Brivo to leverage Crown’s experience and relationships as an owner and operator of commercial real estate to accelerate market expansion.
https://www.civilengineering.ai/smart-building-pioneer-brivo-to-become-publicly-traded-company-through-merger-with-crown-proptech-acquisitions-2/

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Scientists invent 'smart' window material that blocks rays without blocking views

November 27, 2021

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SMART MATERIALS

Scientists invent ‘smart’ window material that blocks rays without blocking views(Nanowerk News) An international research team led by scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has invented a ‘smart’ window material that controls heat transmission without blocking views, which could help cut the energy required to cool and heat buildings.



Developed by NTU researchers, the new energy-saving material for electrochromic (EC) windows that operates at the flick of a switch is designed to block infrared radiation - which is the major component of sunlight that emits heat.

The new material has a specifically designed nanostructure and comprises advanced materials like titanium dioxide (TiO2), tungsten trioxide (WO3),



neodymium-Niobium (Nd-Nb), and tin (IV) oxide (SnO2). The composite material is intended to be coated onto glass window panels, and when activated by electricity, users would be able to ‘switch on and off’ the infrared radiation transmission through the window.

The invention, which featured alongside the front cover of the journal ACS Omega ("Nd–Nb Co-doped SnO2/α-WO3 Electrochromic Materials: Enhanced Stability and Switching Properties"), could block up to 70 per cent of infrared radiation according to experimental simulations without compromising views through the window since it allows up to 90 per cent of visible light to pass through.

The material is also about 30 per cent more effective in regulating heat than commercially available electrochromic windows and is cheaper to make due to its durability.
https://www.civilengineering.ai/scientists-invent-smart-window-material-that-blocks-rays-without-blocking-views/

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How smart buildings and smart grids work together to reduce the carbon footprint

November 27, 2021

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SMART HOME/BUILDING

How smart buildings and smart grids work together to reduce the carbon footprint - Infrastructure MagazineBuilding and construction activities are a major cause of carbon emissions. According to the Global Status Report, building and construction combined account for 36 per cent of global final energy use and 39 per cent of energyrelated carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions when upstream power generation is included.



For some time, businesses and governments have worked to reduce the impact of the built environment. For example, the Federal Government introduced the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) more than 20 years ago – a national rating system that measures the environmental performance of buildings, measuring energy efficiency, water usage, waste management and the indoor environment quality of a building or tenancy and its impact on the environment.



Greater opportunities to decarbonise



Andrew McCluskey, Siemens Australia’s Country Business Unit Head for Smart Infrastructure Regional Solutions & Service, said that the digitalisation of energy and smart building technology is offering building owners greater opportunities to decarbonise.



Integrated hardware and software are providing building operators better opportunities to see what is happening internally, and interact with the energy systems they are connected to in new ways.



“Siemens is also implementing its own decarbonisation strategy with a commitment to become carbon neutral by 2030,” Mr McCluskey said.



“This involves several key concepts around the changing low carbon and energy efficient landscape, and how the grid and smart buildings are starting to work together in new, connected ways.”



Sustainable urban precincts program



Siemens played an instrumental role in the ambitious sustainability program undertaken by RMIT, to reduce its energy and water use and carbon emissions by 25 per cent. The $128 million program started in 2014 and at the time was the largest Sustainable Urban Precincts Program in the Southern Hemisphere.



The program was implemented across RMIT’s three Melbourne campuses, with Siemens responsible for the City Campus, which is made up of 90 buildings across two city blocks.



The project’s aim was to reduce electricity use over eight years by an estimated 239 million kW, which is enough electricity to power 7,000 houses for six years. This is equivalent to a 30,000 tonne reduction in greenhouse gas emissions – the same as planting an area the size of Melbourne CBD with 128,000 trees annually.



The program replaced 2,000 fixtures and had a target to reduce water use by an estimated 68 million litres. Impressively, the targets were achieved four years ahead of schedule. As part of the project, a Distributed Energy System was implemented, encompassing new HV infrastructure as well as two cogeneration systems.



Also included was Siemens’ building management system (Desigo) and Siemens software to monitor and analyse energy consumption and savings. Siemens likes to call the way forward the ‘grid interactive’ building which incorporates newer and smarter technologies.



Three stages to becoming a grid interactive building



From Siemens’ perspective there are three stages a company can take to become a grid interactive building:



1. Load management: this is where all electricity loads within a building’s footprint are managed whilst using automation and enhanced algorithms to predict or suggest more energy efficient actions



2. Optimisation within the building or campus: this is bringing together a portfolio of many buildings to have a centralised management view, which in turn leads to better decision making



3. Demand flexibility: this is about understanding the total loads along with internal patterns and needs, and once understood, it can start looking at a future where it interacts and optimises the grid at a building level



It is clear the building sector has the potential for significant improvement. Vital to this is expert support from specialist companies that understand buildings; so it can prioritise the right actions across the business and manage the risks around project implementation, performance and finance.
https://www.civilengineering.ai/how-smart-buildings-and-smart-grids-work-together-to-reduce-the-carbon-footprint/

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Scanalytics, Inc. Receives $1.3M Plus-Up Contract From US Department of Energy ARPA-E for Scaling Its Smart Building Technologies

November 27, 2021

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SMART HOME/BUILDING

Scanalytics, Inc. Receives $1.3M Plus-Up Contract From US Department of Energy ARPA-E for Scaling Its Smart Building TechnologiesThis plus-up contract will be used to expand next generation surface sensors for optimizing utility usage in buildings



MILWAUKEE, Nov. 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Scanalytics Inc. today announced that it received a plus-up contract from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) bringing the total amount awarded to just over $2.1 million since the start of the project. This continuation award will be used to further scale their proprietary sensor and software technology for improving utility usage and occupant comfort in buildings. Scanalytics is receiving this plus-up after successfully completing the first project in the ARPA-E SENSOR program.



"This will enable us to deliver sensor material and hardware innovations that match the maturity of our data platform. The additional investment by ARPA-E makes critical research and development possible as well as allows us to bring the new technology to market faster," said Joe Scanlin, Scanalytics Inc. Co-founder and CEO. "We need to redefine what it means for a building to be considered 'intelligent'. Our partnership with ARPA-E makes it possible for us to deliver a system that will help a building computationally consider the stochastic changes in their operating conditions, and adjust proactively to avoid the tradeoff between utility waste and occupant comfort. Our solution exploits the ubiquity of floor surfaces as the primary occupant-navigation method in buildings, which means we obviate the need for occupants to interact directly with the system. This advantage allows us to deliver precise occupancy while simultaneously preserving occupant privacy."



"This will enable us to deliver sensor material and hardware innovations that match the maturity of our data platform. The additional investment by ARPA-E makes critical research and development possible as well as allows us to bring the new technology to market faster," said Joe Scanlin, Scanalytics Inc. Co-founder and CEO



"The support we receive from ARPA-E allows us to focus on the occupancy-based energy efficiency use case and has allowed us to greatly improve our counting accuracy by iterating quickly and simultaneously on both the sensor hardware and the software algorithms. It's a great opportunity to continue this project with ARPA-E as we continue to innovate in this space," added Co-founder and Chief Scientist David Webber, Ph.D.



Scanalytics Inc. received its competitive award from ARPA-E's Saving Energy Nationwide in Structures with Occupancy Recognition (SENSOR) program. The program seeks to drastically improve the efficiency of businesses across the United States, as heating, ventilation and cooling consumes over one-third of the energy used by commercial and residential buildings.
https://www.civilengineering.ai/scanalytics-inc-receives-1-3m-plus-up-contract-from-us-department-of-energy-arpa-e-for-scaling-its-smart-building-technologies/

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Extend Building Automation and Control with LoRaWAN

November 27, 2021

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SMART HOME/BUILDING

Extend Building Automation and Control with LoRaWANHistorically, building management systems were hardwired, making it challenging to update or modify these systems. The advent of LPWANs has changed the equation to simplify and extend existing systems to address emerging smart-building requirements.



What you’ll learn:



How LoRaWAN can extend existing BACnet systems for cost-effective smart-building management.

Three approaches to leverage BACnet and LoRaWAN concurrently,

Buildings and even entire campuses worldwide are being renovated and repurposed like never before to create healthier, more efficient, and sustainable environments. As systems evolve, they also place greater demands on building management systems (BMS), which handle everything from light, temperature, air, and water to security and servicing.



The global standard communications protocol for building automation and control (BAC) is BACnet. As with many legacy systems, BACnet is hardwired. Consequently, it’s expensive to install, hard to expand with respect to coverage, and even harder to add functionality that aligns with emerging building requirements that monitor the cleanliness of air, personal safety, room usage, and social distancing. However, the broad availability of low-power wide-area networks (LPWANs) offers an easy way to augment BMS functionality by combining BACnet and LoRaWAN technologies.



Managed by the LoRa Alliance, the LoRaWAN standard is the leading LPWAN protocol designed to wirelessly connect battery operated “things” to the internet in private, regional, national, or global public networks. It addresses key Internet of Things (IoT) requirements such as bidirectional communication, end-to-end security, mobility, and localization services.



LoRa Alliance members include technology leaders such as Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Microsoft, Orange, and Semtech, among many more as part of the largest IoT ecosystem. In the smart-building space, companies like Acklio, Setemi, Talkpool, Voytech, and Wattsense are at the leading edge of deploying LoRaWAN with BACnet. What follows reveals how they do it.
https://www.civilengineering.ai/extend-building-automation-and-control-with-lorawan/

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Dept. of Energy to fund 10 pilot smart building projects

November 27, 2021

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SMART HOME/BUILDING

Dept. of Energy to fund 10 pilot smart building projects | Building Design + ConstructionThe U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said it will fund $61 million for 10 pilot projects that will deploy new technology for thousands of homes and workplaces to accelerate renewable energy adoption and grid resilience.



The 10 connected communities will equip more than 7,000 buildings with smart controls, sensors, and analytics to reduce energy use, costs, and emissions. The technology will allow building systems to interact with the electrical grid to optimize energy consumption.



U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said the projects will “help universalize the technology” and further efforts towards “a carbon-neutral, clean energy economy by 2050.” Connected communities of grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEBs) use smart controls, sensors, and analytics to communicate with the electric grid, reducing the amount of energy they require during periods of peak demand.



A recent DOE study estimated that by 2030 GEBs could save up to $18 billion per year in power system costs and cut 80 million tons of carbon emissions each year. That is more than the annual emissions of 50 medium-sized coal plants or 17 million cars. DOE says its first two connected communities in Alabama and Georgia have already demonstrated this potential by using 42%-44% less energy than today’s average all-electric home.
https://www.civilengineering.ai/dept-of-energy-to-fund-10-pilot-smart-building-projects/

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Cohesion Announces $15 Million Series A Financing to Advance the Commercial Real Estate Transformation to Data-Driven, Smart Buildings Amid a New Era of Hybrid Work

November 27, 2021

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SMART HOME/BUILDING

Cohesion Announces $15 Million Series A Financing to Advance the Commercial Real Estate Transformation to Data-Driven, Smart Buildings Amid a New Era of Hybrid WorkCHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cohesion, a leader in smart building and digital twin SaaS technology, raised $15 million in its Series A financing round co-led by Morgan Stanley Next Level Fund and Hyde Park Angels (HPA), which closed Friday.



The company added several marquee names to an already noteworthy list of investors following a $5 million seed round last summer. New investors, Three Bridges Private Capital and Wintrust Ventures, join seed round investors Singapore-based Frasers Property Group, ESD, Ken Griffin, Citadel Founder and CEO, Michael Sacks of GCM Grosvenor, and Raj Gupta of ESD.



“We were pleased to co-lead Cohesion’s Series A with Next Level Fund’s inaugural investment,” said Alice Vilma, Co-Portfolio Manager, Morgan Stanley Next Level Fund. “With the support of our corporate partners, Microsoft, Hearst and Walmart, we aim to accelerate Cohesion’s API-first technology platform to disrupt commercial real estate operations.”



The company will use the funds for product and market expansion including its digital twin technology for optimizing building environment and health. Cohesion continues to create one of the world’s largest repositories of commercial real estate data, which it uses to establish industry operations benchmarks. Bringing this data to life through artificial intelligence and predictive modeling, the company will lead the industry transformation to autonomous buildings. It will also continue to focus on strategic channel growth, partnering with firms such as Morgan Stanley, Transwestern, The John Buck Company, and Riverside Investment & Development.



“Bringing the power and promise of autonomous technology to commercial real estate is more critical today than ever before,” said Thru Shivakumar, Co-Founder and CEO at Cohesion. “As a leader in this emerging space, we have the technological capability to connect disparate systems and use big data to make buildings more transparent, healthier, engaging and sustainable. Investing in technology that ensures commercial real estate is a positive contributor to our world is central to our company ethos.”



With tens of millions of square feet of commercial office space under its management, Cohesion is continuing to transform commercial real estate with smart technologies that improve the tenant experience, streamline operations and optimize revenue. Its patented platform combines the three main factors that impact building operations – the human aspect, building systems and environmental elements – into a single, multi-function management and data platform that simulates building operations to predict outcomes for the rapidly evolving industry.



“We believe there is a need for the solutions Cohesion is creating,” said Cohesion Board Member Steve Koch, HPA member and former Global Chair of M&A at Credit Suisse. “By connecting the things that matter – whether it is improving health through effective air quality management, supporting ESG and sustainability programs, or delivering insights – Cohesion is poised for success through its next generation technology.”
https://www.civilengineering.ai/cohesion-announces-15-million-series-a-financing-to-advance-the-commercial-real-estate-transformation-to-data-driven-smart-buildings-amid-a-new-era-of-hybrid-work/

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Smart building startup Cohesion raises $15M

November 27, 2021

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SMART HOME/BUILDING

Smart building startup Cohesion raises $15MBacked by Ken Griffin, Cohesion helps building managers bring tech upgrades to their spaces. A Chicago software firm that helps building managers bring tech upgrades to their spaces has raised more funding from big names as it looks to grow its product.



Cohesion announced Wednesday that it raised $15 million in new funding led by Morgan Stanley's Next Level Fund and Hyde Park Angels. Other backers include Citadel founder Ken Griffin, GCM Grosvenor CEO Michael Sacks and Environmental Systems Design chairman Raj Gupta.
https://www.civilengineering.ai/smart-building-startup-cohesion-raises-15m/

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Connectivity: The fundamental ingredient of a successful smart city

November 23, 2021

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SMART HOME/BUILDING

Connectivity: The fundamental ingredient of a successful smart cityFrank Stoecker, CEO and co-founder, EMnify, explores why the IoT and the future of smart cities depend on smart mobility as a key building block

Smart cities and smart city ideals are emerging as the bedrock of sustainable urban planning, offering high standards of living to residents. Smart mobility plays a central role in this emergence, delivering sustainable transportation and improving lives. Yet its success depends upon rapid, secure, reliable methods of connectivity.



Despite the expectations of the twentieth century, with the technological promise of The Jetsons, and the hit-and-miss prophecies of the BBC’s Tomorrow’s World, we’re not yet travelling around in flying cars or riding bicycles across bodies of water(1). Yet, with the accelerated rate of digitisation and the development of new technologies, some futuristic expectations are starting to crystallise on a citywide scale.



Smart cities are beginning to arrive in force, originating through trials and testing in Europe in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s. From early forays that focused on information and communications initiatives, sustainable spaces, grid energy solutions and data capture using geographical information systems (GIS), a more cohesive smart infrastructure has started to spring forth.



Singapore’s Smart Nation vision aims to capture information throughout the city, using sensors linked to aggregation boxes, to deliver services based on traffic volumes and pedestrian activity. Its National Research Foundation is leading the development of Virtual Singapore, a dynamic 3D city model and collaborative data platform.



Oslo is addressing climate change with the wide use of sensors to control lighting, heating and cooling, with a goal to cut emissions by as much as 95% by 2030, as well as developing a smart grid, with widespread electric vehicle charging technologies.



Connected London is delivering full-fibre connectivity across the city, combining buildings with street assets such as lighting columns and bus stops to create a comprehensive grid of smart sensors and charging points. Small mobile transmitters for 5G are also being deployed to deliver citywide improvements to connectivity and future growth.
https://www.civilengineering.ai/connectivity-the-fundamental-ingredient-of-a-successful-smart-city/

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Campus testbeds pilot smart city solutions to climate threats

November 23, 2021

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SMART HOME/BUILDING

Campus testbeds pilot smart city solutions to climate threats -- GCNThe recent uptick of natural disasters in the Pacific Northwest is pushing researchers at Portland State University’s Digital City Testbed Center (DCTC) to explore ways to raise the public’s awareness about environmental threats. However, between communities that are distrustful of urban digital technologies and startups’ innovations that never gain traction, many tech-based solutions for increasing awareness of local and global problems are never deployed.



“The analogy that we've been drawing is with the COVID-19 vaccine,” DCTC Director Jonathan Fink said. “You have this miraculous technology, but it's not able to realize its potential because so many people have concerns about it and are reluctant to use it,” he said. “There's a similar issue in terms of climate change, particularly in cities where there are technologies that can help mitigate some of the effects.”



To make it easier to evaluate smart city technology, DCTC is building a network of campus testbeds where promising applications can be piloted to evaluate their reception and effectiveness. The campuses offer the advantage of being similar to, but smaller than, municipalities, enabling them to make faster decisions than cities. The testbeds give researchers the opportunity to study various applications, their interoperability and data privacy and governance issues.
https://www.civilengineering.ai/campus-testbeds-pilot-smart-city-solutions-to-climate-threats/

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