Fortum partners with Fluxio and Solteq to develop innovative energy-efficient comfortable living

FORTUM ONLINE NEWS 7 MAY 2018
 

Fortum launches innovative cooperation with Fluxio Isännöinti and Solteq. Fluxio and Solteq have won the innovation competition jointly organised by Fortum and Spinverse to find significant new ideas for improving living comfort and energy efficiency.

Fortum’s goal is to switch to carbon-neutral district heating as quickly as possible. An important part of achieving this goal is increasing the efficiency of energy end use. The winning ideas from the innovation competition are related to this objective.

The goal of Fluxio Isännöinti’s innovative idea is to nudge tenants towards more efficient energy use by combining technology and communication. Fortum and Fluxio Isännöinti will join forces to develop a new kind of know-how to help customers to save energy.                 

“What Fortum found especially interesting about Fluxio Isännöinti’s idea is its strong focus on the customer. An important part of the idea involves testing ways to promote energy-saving behaviour”, says Ilkka Toijala Fortum’s head of district heating and cooling operations in Finland, in explaining the jury’s decision.

Solteq’s idea, for its part, is based on efficient and centralised collection of data on temperature deviations in a building, and using this to find ways improve energy use.                     

“The jury was impressed by Solteq’s innovative way of using data efficiently and extensively to find potential sources of energy savings and in that way to improve living”, Toijala adds.

The winners will begin their cooperation and the piloting of their ideas with Fortum in the spring. The first results are expected later this year.

The innovation competition drew over 70 high-quality applications, with the three most interesting business ideas being chosen for the final. The competition culminated with a pitching event on 3 May. The impetus for the competition came from the results of a nationwide survey conducted in November 2017. Many respondents felt that the main negative impacts on the comfort of living in housing company dwellings are stuffy indoor air and large fluctuations in temperature. Through the innovation competition, Fortum wanted to provide its customers with additional services and to accelerate developments in the field.

Fortum Corporation
Communications

Further information:  
Ilkka Toijala, Head of district heating and cooling operations in Finland, tel. +358 40 820 2336