HS2 Ltd have announced today (11 Sept) the first five revolutionary tech firms that will join HS2 Ltd’s Innovation Accelerator programme.
The chosen five focus on HS2’s innovation challenges such as productivity; the environment; and the circular economy.
Chosen out of 109 applicants, the tech firms will receive commercial and technical support from the Innovation Accelerator together with rent-free working space as they grow their technology to help deliver Europe’s largest infrastructure project.
The five companies chosen include
- Buildots has developed wearable camera technology that used Artificial Intelligence and revolutionary computer vision to automate the tracking of build progress compared to the design and schedule, while reducing and resolving disputes.
- Cloudcycle who formed technology to optimise the amount of concrete needed to build HS2.
- Dendra Systems has brought in their cutting-edge drone and Artificial Intelligence platform will help monitor the 140-mile green corridor of seven million trees and shrubs HS2 will create between the West Midlands and London.
- NatureMetrics has a simple biodiversity monitoring kit that could aid with the creation of HS2’s green corridor.
- Sensat has developed a cloud-based platform to capture, visualise and track infrastructure project data anywhere in the world.
All five start their HS2 development work this September.
After six months of development work inside the Accelerator the firms’ solutions will be showcased and pitched to industry investors and HS2’s supply chain, containing thousands of companies ranging from the largest international engineers to specialist suppliers to the project.
HS2 Ltd’s Head of Innovation, Howard Mitchell said: “HS2 is already showcasing the very best of British skills and innovation, and the five companies shortlisted for the Innovation Accelerator today are shining examples of this.
“The size and scale of this project creates the perfect environment to encourage innovation and develop technologies that can create long-term business opportunities both in and beyond the rail and construction sectors.”
HS2 has now opened the Innovation Accelerator online portal for the second wave of applications and is looking for small and medium sized firms specialising in the areas of process efficiencies and passenger experience through HS2 stations.
