Ecocentric is a technology company based in Australia and the United Kingdom. They have developed a proprietary data acquisition and Artificial Intelligence (AI) data analytics platform that provides continuous monitoring and analysis of electrical devices and infrastructure, known as Numen.

Ecocentric became a participant in the Innovating for Net Zero Buildings project, a UK government-funded initiative designed to facilitate collaboration between innovators from the UK and their Singaporean partners in the building decarbonisation sector. Financed by the Tactical Fund and administered by the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) (now the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology), with the British High Commission in Singapore, the project sought to help drive the transition to Net Zero buildings in Singapore.

The aim of the project was to promote the transition to Net Zero buildings in Singapore by:

• Demonstrating combined solutions and relevant technologies between the UK and Singapore through pilots and test bed environments.
• Facilitating research and commercial partnerships between UK and Singapore.

Ecocentric’s involvement in this project highlights their commitment to advancing sustainable building practices.

The challenge 

Ecocentric were looking to engage with building owners or managers where their electrical infrastructure has limited monitoring and less efficient equipment.  This would maximise the impact of their technology and enable them to fully demonstrate their capabilities.

The innovation

Ecocentric’s Numen system is an easy to install electricity data acquisition and analysis platform for energy management and asset condition monitoring.

It learns the operational and behavioural patterns of devices, machines, and infrastructure, providing real-time data to allow businesses to monitor operation and energy consumption, as well as reporting inefficiencies and potential disruptions and identifying unusual behaviours that may be an indication of maintenance needs.

The Numen System:

• Enables a digital transformation of asset maintenance and energy management.
• Helps reduce energy consumption.
• Targets maintenance activities and focuses asset replacement investment strategies.
• Can be used for asset monitoring and energy management in support of building control and management systems.

The solution

Ecocentric partnered with Airmaker who created the Smart Urban Co-Innovation Lab, a collaborative platform established in Singapore to promote the development and deployment of innovative smart city solutions. The lab is supported by organisations like the Infocomm Media Development Authority (iMDA) and Enterprise Singapore, and it is the first private sector-led co-innovation platform focused on the built environment sector.

The lab provides facilities and data to support innovators and enterprises in piloting their solutions. In the case of Ecocentric’s Numen this would be in a server room which mimics the environment of a data centre.

Impact

The trial successfully showcased the Numen system in Singapore. As a result, Airmaker are interested in partnering with Ecocentric to bring the product to market in Singapore.

Various routes are being explored:

• SC Capital is considering offering the system to financial institutions to support CSR objectives and demonstrate energy performance improvements, potentially reducing capital costs.
• Advancer, a facilities management company is interested in integrating the Numen system into their facility management system.
• Cyclect Engineering Solutions is actively seeking opportunities to trial and bring the Numen system to market.
• Ongoing discussions with Surbana Jurong to integrate the Numen system into their digital twin.
• Keppel Data Centres is exploring options to incorporate the Numen system into an underwater data centre they are developing.

Next steps

Ecocentric are now building on the trial results to build a long-term customer base in Singapore. There are firm agreements in place for collaboration to develop commercial opportunities with local partners Airmaker and Advancer and the company is in advanced discussions with several other partners to develop projects and to demonstrate the value of their technology.

Ben Harrington, Business Development Director at Ecocentric, said: 

“Ecocentric has been working with Energy Systems Catapult since the spring of 2023 primarily on how we penetrate the Singapore market for our AI solution Numen.

“The work included being part of a business delegation to Singapore in June 2023 and a follow up trip in October for our first installation in the region with Energy Systems Catapult part-funded. Their support and knowledge on how we approach the Singapore market, find new opportunities, develop our solution and business model has been invaluable and it’s helped us get a strong foothold in a market with which we’d previously had little experience.

“We’re now planning a further trip to the region with our first commercial client and a strong pipeline of other opportunities. Whilst we’ve worked hard to develop these opportunities, we unquestionably couldn’t have done it without the support of Energy Systems Catapult “