Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - THE SOLAR URBAN HUB (A SOLAR URBAN HUB with integrated lighting and information system for optimal Smart Cities efficiency)

Teaser

Nowadays more than 70% of the EU population live in cities and urban areas. City and resource management is a critical issue for Municipalities. Ensuring traffic flows, low pollution levels, and sustainable activity is currently a challenge with no unique integrated monitoring...

Summary

Nowadays more than 70% of the EU population live in cities and urban areas. City and resource management is a critical issue for Municipalities. Ensuring traffic flows, low pollution levels, and sustainable activity is currently a challenge with no unique integrated monitoring system. The lack of common standards and interoperable solutions and the risk of fragmentation have been acknowledged by the European Commission as major challenges to the deployment and exploitation of the IoT potential. Europe is playing a leading role in driving the energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources. Existing street lighting solutions, which do not offer the smart and renewable energy functionalities of the Solar Urban HUB, are heavily impacting on the inefficiency of our cities. For these reasons, finding innovative, integrated energy solutions for the urban environment that support the EU’s transformation towards a low-carbon society is at its heart in order to achieve a cleaner and zero CO2 emission society.

Smart Cities have the potential to enhance the urban environment, improve the quality of life for residents and enable sustainable growth and development. There is a wealth of information available through IoT assets; however, there is no available solution that actively exploits this information for more efficient Smart Cities.

Approximately 19.6 million 1930s High-pressure sodium (HPS) yellow streetlights in Europe are still in operation today. Of the energy they consume, 90% is wasted as heat, with only 10% converted to light. These areas have a potential for up to 50% energy savings by adopting the latest technologies. In addition, these lights have a strong negative impact on the environment emitting 11 million tonnes of CO2 in Europe, equivalent to 2.4 million additional cars annually. Space and energy is needed throughout a city for data collection and to set up new networks. Existing smart lighting or renewable solutions have simply attached sensors or photovoltaics directly onto the lighting “pole” producing unattractive street furniture. The exposure of all sensors also increases the risk of failure due to poor weather, vandalism etc.

The Solar Hub is a new grid connected concept of smart urban furniture which converts LED street lighting into an IoT enabling smart city tool. The Solar Hub belongs to the new generation of Cradle to Cradle zero CO2 emissions products entirely powered by the Sun. It is a new concept of solar streetlight that enables a platform for IoT devices that allows innovative business models for Smart Cities.

Apart from the above mentioned IoT system, the Solar Urban HUB can integrate various kinds of sensors and communication devices designed for Smart Cities, which can be tailored at the request of the client. All data gathered by the Hub is communicated via the cloud to the user dashboard from where the various information can be monitored and actions taken, e.g. turning on/off the lights themselves. The enabling of any IoT device through the Hub optimises the Smart City environment. The Hub can be utilised to improve traffic flows, monitor urban temperatures and pollution, optimise energy usage and inform citizens on road diversions and parking availability among others.

The overall objectives of the project were to develop a market assessment identifying the growth drivers and the market opportunities in order to define our TAM (Total Addressable Market). A competition analysis was also required to understand the current offer and to enhance our value proposition for the potential customers. Our Go-to-market strategy was a result of the previous analysis as we were able to define precisely USP, strategy to reach our potential customers, pricing and marketing actions. Pilot trials were defined as an opportunity to test the solution in real environment as well as to increase credibility among the target clients. Another objective was to set up a detailed plan for large-scale ma

Work performed

MARKET ASSESSMENT, COMPETITION ANALYSIS AND MARKETING STRATEGY

Regulations about reducing carbon footprint in the environment are rising and reinforcing the use of renewable resources. In many countries, the government provides financial support and subsidies for using clean energy. Fossil fuels, such as coal and gas, used for providing conventional energy, are being exhausted quickly. These are some examples of growth drivers that evolve to the solar energy.

The Solar Urban HUB has two versions to meet the needs of two different markets. The stand-alone version that does not require connection to electric grid and is oriented to the market of new installations. And the Hybrid version (Stand-alone and grid connected), oriented to the retrofitting market, where we have an existent electric grid. The global market size for the Solar Urban HUB then is the proportion correspondent to stand-alone plus the grid connected markets. The global solar street lighting market size is forecasted to grow at 21.2% CAGR until 2023, resulting in very potential market.

SIARQ is targeting Telecom, IT service providers, Utilities and Energy Service Companies (ESCO) as customers who will act as distributors of Solar Urban HUB to end users. In particular, these big corporations provide Global Solution for Smart Cities to end users and are interested to include in their portfolio Solar Urban HUB as part of their solutions.

Three main classifications were defined to analyze our competitors based on design and Smart City integration. Other attributes such as being solar, performance, price and maintenance were also key concepts of our evaluation. Solar Urban HUB offers the best ratio of all desired features; cost-effectiveness, performance and aesthetic design, that allows IoT sensors integration for Smart Cities.

Solar Urban HUB solution will be marketed through the platform Rethinkthecity.org by inviting the Smart Cities ecosystem to join SIARQ and talking about new business models for the cities of tomorrow. The marketing plan includes selling pilot installations to both, Global Solution for Smart Cities companies and End Users. Marketing actions in the sector are planned to reach our target customers.

The sales roadmap starts in the European market of some countries selected strategically. Pricing of the product depends on various factors such as versions, quantities and customizations (specific sensors, finishes, etc.), but it’s very competitive according to the value the solution delivers. The business model analysis confirms that the value proposition of the solution is strong, and we need strategic alliances with key partners, Energy Service Companies, R&D centres to reach the end users.

Pilot demonstrations to show the performance of the solution are required. For instance, SIARQ has installed the first Solar Urban HUB in the Smart Zone of a leading operator of wireless telecommunications to give light and measure the flow of people in the main building for security issues. This solution was recently connected to Sentilo, a city platform that shares information to easily integrate applications. The concept of Smart Solar HUB, derived from Solar Urban HUB is being tested in different locations of Spain as part of the previous launch of the final solution. Another pilot trial will be prepared in a living lab for intelligent lighting and Smart City services called DOLL in the city of Copenhagen.

TECHNICAL & PRODUCTION ANALYSIS

The Solar Urban HUB is a new concept of smart urban furniture, able to combine street lighting, solar energy and support for Smart City devices. It will provide a holistic solution at a competitive price, without compromising on the aesthetical design. It is also the first step for the creation of a new infrastructure at the cross road between communication and energy.

The product developed is a compact element composed by several technological components. The envelope of the product is constituted by a pho

Final results

The Solar Urban HUB is an innovative concept of urban furniture that belongs to the new generation of Cradle to Cradle zero CO2 emissions products entirely powered by the Sun. It stands out by its dome-shaped lightweight photovoltaic module that houses control electronics, energy accumulator, lighting LED modules, sensors and other smart devices that enable different kinds of monitoring for Smart Cities. It\'s an integral smart infrastructure that gives support to IoT deployment in urban environments and a booster for the creation of new services, companies and economical activities.

The expected result for the beginning of the project is to have the product ready for commercialization, scaling up the production and improving the manufacturing and assembly process along with key suppliers and partners. The following results are focused on the Go-to-market strategy, allowing the successful launch of the final product. We have been working along the project with inputs of potential customers and have raised interest in them to develop pilot tests with specific user cases for a further larger deployment of Solar Urban HUBs in the urban space.

The Solar Urban HUB is an innovative solution with a high impact in environmental, social, economic and technological areas. It delivers value to the urban ecosystem: citizens, urban spaces, municipalities and companies as it is a renewable energy solution that enables a platform for IoT and smart devices for the cities. The Solar HUB improves the welfare of the community, allowing nice, clean and safe spaces for a higher quality of life.

Website & more info

More info: http://www.siarq.com/.