CHF1.7 million to improve predictions for hydropower companies

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16.08.2021
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ExoLabs enable businesses to better apply insights from Earth Observation data such as from satellites. Recently, a new project with a total budget of CHF 1.7 million was approved, funded by the Eurostars program. The start-up expects that the service developed within the project will be used for more than 100 installations in the next five years.

The project called “SnoWE - Snow Water Equivalent forecasting service for the hydropower sector» aims to model the snow water equivalent (SWE) of the snow cover and predict the water inflow according to the forecasted weather. The SnoWE consortium consisting of ExoLabs, the Norwegian start-up Think Outside and the Austrian meteorological data provider UBIMET will combine data from snow-radar devices (Think Outside) and satellite observations on snow cover (ExoLabs) in numerical weather models for short-, medium-term forecast of snow balance model and water inflow (UBIMET). 

In snow-prone mountain areas, snowmelt runoff poses a significant challenge given the uncertainties related to the timing and volume of snowmelt water. It is essential for hydropower companies to correctly model the water inflow sourced by melted snow, at both short (typically, hours to days) and long ranges (a season ahead), which serves a variety of decisions from production planning to flood protection. Significant uncertainties (10-40%) in these estimations result frequently in water spills, which represent lost electricity generation and revenues. This uncertainty leads to inefficient water management, which causes significant losses for the hydropower industry. Furthermore, such spills may result in downstream flooding, damaging crops, and infrastructure. But quantifying this water resource is challenging due to the highly variable snowpack in the complex mountain terrain. 

Optimizing production planning and increasing revenues

The SnoWE service will be a new product for an existing market of SWE estimation solutions to assist hydropower companies in the hydrological modelling. The novel service will facilitate an optimised water management for hydropower companies, as well as public authorities, based on access to improved data collection and accurate SWE calculations. The high accuracy of the SnoWE service will allow hydropower companies to optimize their production planning (up to 50%) and increase revenues (up to 10%).

SnoWE will be provided as a Software as a Service (SAAS) B2B Business model. Based on annual subscriptions customers gain access to the SnoWE API providing SWE and snowmelt forecasts. The revenue stream consists of a fixed basic licence and annual usage licenses per hydropower station along with additional service options on snow measurement hardware and its data analysis. The solution will be distributed jointly by the three partners via an umbrella website. In the next 5 years, ExoLabs projects up to 140 installations.

Eurostars is a European joint programme, co-funded by EUREKA and the European Union. The program supports SME and start-ups which want to strengthen their competitiveness and develop an innovative product or service with cross border partner companies or research teams. The evaluation of the applications and the reporting on the projects is carried out centrally in Brussels by the EUREKA Association Secretariat for all participating countries. Innosuisse is responsible for issuing the contracts, paying out the funding and the financial reporting in Switzerland.

(Press release / SK)

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