British solar developer Lightsource BP has acquired Irish Internet of Things specialist Ubiworx in a deal which the company said would allow it to take advantage of a “reinvention” in energy.
The developer, which late last year sold a minority stake in itself to oil and gas major BP, elected to acquire Ubiworx after two years of collaborating closely on a software platform used in Lightsource BP’s domestic solar-plus-storage system, Sunplug.
However the firm has today added that Ubiworx stood to contribute to wider elements of Lightsource BP’s businessm and would bring “world-class IoT capability” to the company’s R&D Division, dubbed Lightsource Labs.
It especially nodded towards Ubiworx’s ability to bring machine learning and artificial intelligence know-how to compliment Lightsource BP’s existing prowess in renewables and battery storage.
Kareen Boutonnat, group COO at Lightsource BP, said that further digitsation and decarbonisation of the energy sector would require “reinvention” beyond just monitoring and consumption control.
“This transformation is being led by innovation and market disruptors, like electric vehicles that will completely change the way household energy is used and stored. We cannot underestimate the ‘power of the home’ and its vital role in shaping this new energy future.”
“Through our acquisition of Ubiworx, we aim to create more connected, intelligent, efficient and sustainable energy systems that will turn ordinary homes into ‘self-learning smart homes’, actively encouraging communities to live more sustainably.”
Mark Burkley, co-founder at Ubiworx, added: “Our vision has always been to enable cutting-edge IoT intelligence across the energy sector. Merging talent and expertise with Lightsource BP will realise our ambition and enable the company to develop world class smart systems in this fast-moving decentralised energy space.”