A six-year Framework with Morrison Construction and Scottish Water has been awarded to Hypervine, a cleantech construction startup that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology “to provide end-to-end site data for construction and mining firms, boosting efficiencies whilst enabling massive reductions in carbon emissions”.
Hypervine is described as helping the construction industry to turn site activities into measurable site metrics. “By combining data captured from satellites, a product of its partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA) and its own mobile app, Hypervine provides end-to-end accurate site data that brings predictability to site activities, creating drastic improvements in efficiencies in time, money and carbon emissions,” says an announcement from the group.
Hypervine’s partnership with Morrison Construction apparently created a competitive advantage over other bids, “empowering the construction firm to win its DV2 bid by introducing technologies that capture end to end site data that is standardised, organised and categorised, as well as cost and emissions being recorded and accountable”.
“Digitising the construction process alongside providing a record of all activities into and out of construction sites as well as the previously-unseen processes that support the delivery of large-scale national projects is key to hitting strict emissions targets”. DV2 is one of Scotland’s largest capital investment infrastructure programs to date, and an opportunity to showcase how technology can augment the construction process to improve operations for years to come.
Paul Ingham, Operations Director Scotland for Morrison Construction said, “After trialling Hypervine on some of our sites and being impressed with the initial outcomes, we saw an opportunity to invite Hypervine in as a partner on our DV2 bid to Scottish Water, leveraging the economic and environmental savings created by its technology that are essential in achieving Morrison’s ambition to differentiate as the Greenest Construction Partner as we maximise carbon reduction across our operations. Working with Hypervine has been both informative and a pleasure; the team’s dedication and attention to detail has helped shape the framework, adding alternative options to our capabilities in achieving Operational Excellence and building a sustainable future for our customers and communities.”
Construction companies and projects of such magnitude are faced with real difficulties when meeting emissions targets, The World Green Building Council calculates that 11% of global energy-related carbon emissions are from materials and construction, whilst the production of cement accounts for 8% of global carbon emissions according to the Chatham House thinktank.
Paul Duddy, CEO and founder of Hypervine comments that, “Hypervine has come a long way since its inception, an idea spawned when a wall at Oxgangs Primary School in Edinburgh collapsed with ‘no warning’. Since that starting point, we have grown our product stack significantly, our technology now helps construction firms win bids, reduce costs and improve their carbon footprints whilst giving visibility over previously unattainable site operations. We are proud partners in this and see an exciting digital future for construction, working together to reach Net Zero across the industry.”
