Ecoisme, a Ukrainian startup which has developed a connected device for energy management, has agreed with the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) an eight-month pilot project to improve energy efficiency in the emirate. The agreement, signed in late November, came as a result of Ecoisme’s participation in a three-month acceleration program in Dubai Future Accelerators.
Supported by the Dubai Future Foundation and the Dubai government, the program aims to identify emergent technologies and businesses with the potential to “address the world’s most pressing challenges and opportunities,” and to support them in developing solutions and prototypes for rapid deployment across Dubai.
“We intend to transform Dubai into the most innovative state in the world, and reduce electricity and water consumption while increasing the city’s population by 2021,” Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, DEWA’s managing director and CEO, said in an exchange with Ukrainian tech blog AIN.UA.
“We are glad to have signed this agreement with Ecoisme. Together we will be able to enhance our relationship with our customers, Dubai inhabitants, and make our organization more open to communication,” Al Tayer added.
Ecoisme was the only project from Ukraine to be chosen to participate in the program.
In line with DEWA’s strategy, the Ukrainian technology is aimed to track and decrease energy consumption by Dubai citizens. It will be integrated to existing local systems of smart meters and solar panels, Maria Korolenko, business development manager at Ecoisme, told Ukraine Digital News.
Combating high energy costs
As part of the pilot, Ecoisme will cover residential accommodation exclusively.
In Dubai, utility bills are high while the government does not subsidize electricity.
“We will provide inhabitants with precise data about the energy consumption of each electric device in their home. Meanwhile, we will provide DEWA with data on how household appliances are used in Dubai,” Korolenko explained.
Ecoisme is also in discussions with other companies in the region, she added.
Ecoisme’s most important cooperation to date started this past summer, when the startup was distinguished at EDF Pulse Awards, a competition organized by the French electricity giant to reward startups across Europe for their innovations.
EDF has begun promoting and distributing the Ecoisme solution in France.
“Amazing IoT buzz”
Created in 2013, Ecoisme initially went through a Kiev-based incubator before completing an acceleration program at Hubraum, a Krakow, Poland-based incubator.
The startup received €80,000 in funding investment from Hubraum and its backer Deutsche Telekom.
In January 2016, Ecoisme’s co-founder Ivan Pasichnyk got listed in Forbes Europe “30 Under 30” success list.
Later this year, the startup was selected to participate in Richard Branson’s Virgin Media Accelerator program.
“It’s amazing to see how the Ecoisme young bunch of Ukrainian whizkids have created such a buzz in the IoT sector. It’s an area that is normally dominated by tech giants,” said Bas Godska, a Dutch marketing expert who invested in Ecoisme at the earliest stage, in a previous exchange with Ukrainian Digital News.
Sources: Ecoisme, Dubai Future Accelerators, AIN.UA.
