Acciona has become the lead investor in SAALG Geomechanics, a software and engineering startup that predicts real ground movement during the entire tunnelling construction cycle. Acciona, as strategic partner, will allow SAALG Geomechanics to apply its Daarwin analysis software among its dozen TBMs currently operating on different projects around the globe.
The technology company has raised €3.65M, partially funded by the European Commission’s EIC Accelerator program, in a mixed model of capital investment and subsidies, with Acciona as lead investor and Creand Crèdit Andorrà as financial supporter. SAALG Geomechanics aims to subsequently raise new capital up to €5M.
For Acciona, the move aligns with its own open innovation program called I’MNOVATION. Through this initiative, the company gives startups the opportunity to collaborate on real projects by applying their innovative solutions.
The functions of the Daarwin software, based on machine learning algorithms, make it possible to predict a TBM’s forward speed, detect geotechnical anomalies in advance, assist TBM pilots in optimizing tunnelling phases, and gather information for use in future projects.
Since its creation in 2016, SAALG Geomechanics has been involved in more than 50 civil engineering, large building and mining projects worldwide: tunnels, large excavations and roads in more than 15 countries. Since 2020, its Daarwin software has been used on the UK’s HS2 project, the largest European high-speed rail infrastructure project.
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