They're on every corner, lighting our way. But that's usually it. Streetlights could do so much more—you just need to equip them accordingly. And that's exactly what eluminocity is doing. The Munich startup, led by founder Sebastian Jagsch, has been working on making streetlights more intelligent since 2014. With success.
The cities of the future are expected to be more efficient, technologically advanced, and greener. In short: smarter. But where and how do we begin, given that smart cities won't be designed from scratch, but will often have to be built on existing structures? eluminocity is also addressing this idea, focusing on something that seems to be on every corner: streetlights. The question the Munich-based startup is asking: How can streetlights become more intelligent and effective?
Let's start with the question of intelligence. The magic word here is sensor technology. Equipping streetlights with various sensors can help collect a variety of important "smart city" data. The best example: parking sensor technology for a automatic parking space monitoring. Or the use of Environmental sensors that can be used to continuously measure ambient conditions such as exhaust gases and pollutants or even noise pollution. Smart City PlatformWith the eluminocity module, eluminocity has developed a way to enable streetlights to do just that. The module can be installed on existing streetlights, eliminating the need to set up new monitoring stations. Pilot projects are already underway in Singapore and Hong Kong.
And how can streetlights become more effective? By providing electricity in addition to light. Using a charge module from eluminocity, a "normal" streetlight can be transformed into a charging station for electric cars. Here, too, the Munich-based startup is focusing on retrofitting rather than building new ones, setting itself apart from its competitors in the market in this approach. The proverbial "refueling at the curb" is thus no longer a thing of the future. And how is business doing in this area? Sebastian Jagsch, founder and CEO of eluminocity, says:
"We have recently won a major project with ReachNow in Seattle, USA. This involves the construction of 20 charging islands with multiple charging solutions for electric cars. In addition to pure unit sales, the project business has become increasingly important."
Strategic partners and investors
The Munich-based startup has taken major steps in development since its founding in 2014. And so far, it has always been independent, as eluminocity financed itself through project and partner contracts. However, the Munich-based startup had strong strategic partners on board from the very beginning. Sebastian Jagsch explains:
"After conducting a cross-border rollout with our strategic partner BMW, including freestanding and lamppost-mounted charging stations, we gradually advanced the field of smart street lighting and motion sensors. We were able to win Infineon for the development of the sensors, who are also supporting us in market access as partners."
These strategic partners have recently been complemented by two strategic investors. In its first financing round, eluminocity was able to attract Trilux and innogy. This puts the company well positioned. With their capital, Trilux, the German market leader for technical lighting, and the energy group innogy can not only drive technological development and expand international sales, but also open many doors in the global smart city market with their access.
eluminocity is no longer just operating in the German market. In addition to major projects in the US and Asia, the Munich-based startup has now also opened an office in Denver. The teams in Munich—currently consisting of 30 employees—and in Denver will be further expanded with the fresh capital:
"To build excellent developers and a project and sales team, you simply need financial upfront investment. For this reason, we decided to pursue a financing round and specifically sought strategic investors,"
lets and Robert Lee, CFO of eluminocity, know.
Map the heartbeat of the city
eluminocity's charging stations have been available for testing in the Munich metropolitan area since last summer. As part of a joint initiative by the City of Munich, Munich's municipal utility company, the BMW Group, and eluminocity, streetlights at four locations in Schwabing and Maxvorstadt were equipped with charging station modules. The electricity consumption during a charging session can be billed via the "BMW i ChargeNow" charging network or the municipal utility company's "Ladenetz" network. For Mayor Dieter Reiter, the installation represents another step for the city of Munich toward becoming a smart city.
And what's next for eluminocity? What other functions might a street lamp possibly perform in the future?
Sebastian Jagsch says:
"According to our vision, the streetlight of the future will be able to map the heartbeat of the city. This means that intelligent streetlights will not only help to control traffic more smoothly, but will also be able to predict an impending accident, for example, by analyzing sound patterns.
Since resource consumption and environmental pollution in cities are currently the biggest challenges, we are initially focusing on these important use cases."
