The "NewGen Construction Site" is increasingly becoming a reality. Italgas Group and the innovative business incubator I3P have selected and awarded five companies from over 60 projects submitted in response to the call for start-ups launched in March 2024. These companies proposed the best solutions and innovative technologies to define the profile of a sustainable construction site, accelerate the transition to a new way of building energy infrastructures, and work more safely.
The initiative is part of “Ideas 4 Italgas”, an open innovation program launched by Italgas in 2020 to identify the most promising start-ups and SMEs to support the digital transformation of networks and the Group's sustainability activities. The call's final stage, featuring pitches by eight finalist companies, and the award ceremony for the five winners took place on Wednesday, November 20th, during a public event hosted by I3P in Turin.
The following projects were selected by Italgas, in order of recognition:
- Sikuro (Bergamo, Italy) provides IoT devices and AI-based software to improve workplace safety, monitoring high-risk construction sites and industrial environments in real time, preventing accidents, and optimizing safety management.
- Pix4D (Prilly, Switzerland) offers advanced photogrammetry solutions for monitoring infrastructures and
construction sites, enabling companies to generate highly accurate 3D models
for better asset management and maintenance.
- Enivibes (Milan, Italy) develops IoT technologies for continuous network infrastructure monitoring. Its sensors detect leaks and anomalies in pipelines in real time, optimizing maintenance while reducing costs and environmental impacts.
- Sensoworks (Rome, Italy) creates an AI-based predictive monitoring platform for critical infrastructures such as bridges and viaducts, detecting anomalies in real time to prevent failures and enhance maintenance operations.
- Wsense (Rome, Italy) is a start-up specializing in underwater technologies. It develops IoT and communication systems for environmental monitoring and underwater surveillance, optimizing the management of marine data and subsea assets.
The three other companies also garnered interest during the final competition stage:
- Hypermeteo (Rome, Italy) develops ultra-localized weather forecasting solutions using big data and artificial intelligence, supporting companies in managing assets and predicting adverse weather events.
- TimelapseLab (Mantua, Italy) provides an automated continuous monitoring system for construction sites and large infrastructure projects, improving not only visual documentation but also safety, progress tracking, and productivity analysis.
- Wescan (Bergamo, Italy) offers advanced solutions for continuous monitoring of critical infrastructures with IoT sensors, providing real-time data to enhance safety, maintenance, and operational efficiency while reducing risks and response times.
The winning projects may now have the opportunity to develop a Proof-of-Concept with Italgas, collaborating directly with the Group to field-test their technological proposals. Additionally, the selected teams will gain free access to mentorship and Italgas’ laboratories to explore practical integration of their innovations into the Group's established processes. They may also embark on a six-month incubation program at I3P, benefiting from strategic consulting and entrepreneurial training.
"Innovation is the extraordinary engine driving our Group's evolution into a Network Tech Company," commented Peter Durante, Chief People, Innovation & Transformation Officer at Italgas. "Over these transformative years, we've seen firsthand the importance of an open innovation approach that provides access to unlimited technological advancements and shortens implementation timelines. Collaborating with such innovative entities creates a mutually beneficial advantage: we grow together and create value for the community."
"Since the first call in 2020, we have integrated nearly 20 technologies developed by selected startups - said Leonardo Ambrosi, Group Innovation Officer at Italgas - many of these have improved our daily operations, increasing efficiency and sustainability. These figures exemplify our vision of open innovation: a valuable opportunity to explore new perspectives and evolve our ability to conduct business sustainably."
"The open innovation initiative we designed and implemented with Italgas has concluded in the best possible way", remarked Giuseppe Scellato, President of I3P. "The collaboration between our business incubator and a major corporate entity like Italgas has created value for all stakeholders involved – from startups presenting innovative solutions to a sector leader capable of field-testing them, to third-party companies and students who benefit from opportunities to grow by addressing sustainability challenges. Sustainability spans multiple sectors where building new paradigms and methodologies, facilitated by digitization, is both possible and desirable."
