Commercial buildings all around the world generally consume immense amounts of energy, thereby generating high levels of carbon emissions. As a result of the growing interest in sustainability, several startups are taking the necessary steps to reduce the carbon emissions in the real estate industry. One such startup is R8 Technologies, a portfolio company of Pontos Group, which has secured investment to step into new markets.
Technology to reduce CO2 emissions
Tallinn-based R8 Technologies (R8tech) has raised €900K funding, which will be used to expand into new markets. Pontos believes that the company can play a major role in accelerating change in real estate.
“Pontos has supported R8tech for many years, and we feel that the new investments indicate strong trust in the company’s constant growth and internationalisation. We strongly believe in the digitalisation of construction and real estate, and R8tech is a great example in this area. With technology, we can significantly reduce the CO2 emissions of real estate,” says Pontos’ Investment Associate Tor-Oskar Karlberg. Notably, Pontos owns 23 per cent in R8tech with this investment round.
Eyes 3x growth in 2021
R8tech provides a digital building operator platform, which automates the management of heating and air conditioning systems in commercial properties. R8tech’s technology results in 10 per cent to 20 per cent of energy savings per property while maintaining high air quality indoors. Furthermore, it minimises CO2 emissions significantly, claims the company. .
“The digital operator takes advantage of the building management systems of commercial buildings. It ensures to monitor and optimise indoor climate, detect faults in the system and manage the tasks of property management companies. By deploying technology, a 25,000 m2 government office building in Tallinn, Estonia has managed to save up to 31.5% of energy and 225 tons of CO2 in just four months,” says the company in a press release.
As of now, R8 Digital Operator monitors over 500,000 m2 of commercial buildings. This includes the Finnish shopping centre Redi and Viru Keskus in Estonia. Notably, the company estimates that the area will grow 3x in 2021.
“According to the European Commission, there are over 5 billion square meters of commercial buildings in the EU that are using too much energy while not reaching an optimal indoor climate due to the complexity of the systems. R8tech has demonstrated a noticeable positive effect once integrated,” says Siim Täkker, CEO of R8tech.
About R8 Technologies
R8 Technologies focuses on decreasing energy consumption in commercial properties whilst optimising indoor climate for every room. Its R8 Digital Operator, which is an artificially intelligent software, is added to the client’s existing Building Automation System (BAS, BMS).
“It helps in increases energy- and operational efficiency of your building up to 20 per cent and detects the HVAC systems faults. The R8 Digital Operator integrates remotely and securely as with all common and modern Building Automation Systems and other management platforms without any additional hardware,” says the company.
R8tech is a member of PropTech Finland, UK PropTech ja GreenTech Alliance. The company operates in 12 countries across the EU including Portugal, Finland, Austria, Netherlands and Poland and is headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia. Its clientele includes WeWork, CBRE, EDP, Sokotel, EfTEN Capital.
