Wegaw secures grant from Innosuisse to develop advanced geospatial digital twin technology
14 June 2023
Climate-tech startup Wegaw has been awarded a CHF 1.4 million Swiss Accelerator Grant by Innosuisse to support its ambitious two-year project to develop sophisticated geospatial digital twin technology.
Wegaw's technology specializes in near real-time monitoring of snow, glaciers, and water resources. By utilizing this technology, Wegaw intends to provide unprecedented accuracy in forecasting future water and energy availability. This becomes increasingly crucial as global snow cover continues to decline, resulting in the loss of an entire month's worth of snow at low and medium altitudes over a 50-year period.
The decline in snow cover has significant implications for Switzerland's energy generation and forecasting capabilities, particularly during uncertain periods such as the height of summer and mid-winter. To address this challenge, the Swiss government is collaborating with Wegaw, enabling energy companies and public agencies to enhance their energy shortage plans by leveraging improved water availability forecasts.
As part of the project, Wegaw will collaborate with Hydrique and Mitta to develop a water and energy forecasting tool using geospatial technology. This partnership will leverage observation data from satellite and drone imagery, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) stations, in-situ measurements, and weather stations. By integrating these diverse data sources, a highly accurate digital twin of water, glacier, and snow resource datasets will be created, providing invaluable insights for the Swiss energy, water, and utility industries. This innovative climate change forecasting tool will help flag potential shortage scenarios and climate anomalies, enabling better preparation and response strategies.
Wegaw's ultimate goal is to build the most advanced snow, glacier, and water forecasting tool by partnering with Hydrique and Mitta. This tool will provide near real-time data to Swiss companies, utilities, and public agencies, enabling them to optimize energy generation, trading pricing strategies, and water demand management.
The implementation and testing of the new geospatial digital twin technology will involve leading hydropower companies in Scandinavia and Canada. Wegaw plans to conduct several pilots over a 12-month period, improving short-term forecasts for energy and water output optimization and long-term forecasts for financial risk reduction and trading value maximization. The objective is to enhance the resilience of hydropower and water management organizations by equipping them with accurate forecasting capabilities.
Wegaw anticipates releasing further announcements and project updates in the future. Those interested in getting involved or learning more about the project can contact the Wegaw team directly through their website at wegaw.com/contact-us.
Natural lake of Caumasee, Flims, Switzerland at different water levels. Left was published Feb 10th 2023, right was published May 28th 2021
