Recently, Beijing Nuanliu Science and Technology Co., Ltd., a smart heating SaaS company focusing on "AI + carbon neutralization" announced its Series A financing of tens of millions RMB. Sinovation Ventures led this round, followed by E Link Ventures and Peakview Capital. The newly added capital will be used to improve the product ecological chain and accelerate the market expansion.
Mr. SHEN Wenchao, executive director of Sinovation Ventures, said, "Heating is a sizable industry closely related to people's livelihood in the winter. For a long time, the traditional heating operation was extensive and the energy utilization efficiency rate was not high. The industry itself is huge in volume, and there is more room for optimization of energy saving and carbon reduction. Nuanliu Technology has a very strong technical team with outstanding algorithmic capabilities. Deeply involved in the industry for many years, Nuanliu Technology understands customers' needs, operates locally, and demonstrates greatly improvement in energy utilization efficiency, therefore highly recognized by many lighthouse customers. Under the policy requirements of peaking carbon dioxide emissions and carbon neutrality, as well as the general trend of long-term rising energy prices, we are very optimistic about the future potential of Nuanliu Technology. "
Founded in 2015, Nuanliu Technology is deeply involved in the field of smart heating. Using "AIoT" and "digital twin" technologies to reform the traditional heating industry. It is a smart heating SaaS operation service provider with self-developed proprietary core technologies.
Nuanliu Technology has independently developed its industrial IoT hardware and industrial Internet architecture, such as intelligent wireless sensors and intelligent centralized controllers, which adapt to the whole operational cycle of the heating system. It also builds a digital twin system integrating 3D rapid modeling technology, online simulation technology, and AI algorithms. Nuanliu also established a smart heating "AIoT + SaaS" platform driven by data and artificial intelligence technology. Nuanliu Technology provides heating enterprises with a whole-system solution of "source, network, station and end," an end-to-end business system of "production, charging, customer service and maintenance." Its technology helps form a one-stop and closed-loop SaaS service system helping energy enterprises to quickly achieve intelligent service upgrades, energy-saving, carbon reduction, cost reduction, and efficiency upgrades. In essence, Nuanliu helps city administrations to enhance a new urban infrastructure under the "peaking carbon dioxide emissions and carbon neutrality" strategy.
It is worth mentioning that, in the smart heating security assurance for the 2022 Winter Olympics, Nuanliu Technology is responsible for the safety and emergency security of heating operation in the core competition area of Zhangjiakou Winter Olympics Games and the main urban area in Chongli, providing services for the Winter Olympics with professional technology and services.
Periphery Support Command Center of Zhangjiakou Chongli District
Smart Heating Support Platform Built by Nuanliu Technology for Winter Olympics
"AI + carbon neutrality" reshapes the traditional heating industry
According to the statistics of 2021 Annual Research Report of Building Energy Efficiency in China, as of 2019, the heating area of northern cities and towns in China is 15.2 billion m2, the annual energy consumption is equivalent to 213 million tons of standard coal, and the carbon emission reaches 550 million tons. With the increase of new urban buildings and the southward movement of heating lines, the heating area will further increase. Therefore, to achieve the goal of 2060 carbon neutrality, it is imperative for the heating industry to save energy and reduce carbon emissions.
In October 2021, the Notice of the State Council on Printing and Distributing the “Action Plan for Peaking Carbon Dioxide Emissions before 2030” also explicitly mentioned: implementing urban energy-saving and carbon-reduction projects, carrying out energy-saving upgrades of infrastructures such as buildings, transportation, lighting, and heating, promoting the demonstration and application of advanced green building technologies, and improving overall urban energy efficiency.
Through AIoT technology, the refined operation of heating can be realized to achieve the carbon reduction target of 15%-20% without affecting the heat quality for users.
Dr. LIU Lanbin, Founder and CEO of Nuanliu Technology
Dr. LIU Lanbin, Founder and CEO of Nuanliu Technology, said, "At the beginning of the company's establishment, the heating industry as a whole was still in an automated and semi-automated state, and informationization and digitalization were seriously insufficient. We spent a lot of time researching and developing core technologies such as IoT intelligent hardware, AI algorithms, simulation, and digital twin to solve the roadblocks of real 'smart heating.' Nowadays, it has become an inevitable trend for the heating industry to upgrade from automation to AI control. I believe 'heating + AI' solution is able to replace manual decision-making with AI over time."
The Nuanliu Technology team, which has hardcore technology and years of experience in the heating industry, grasped the great upgrading potential and market value of this track and decided to join in and use science and technology to promote the transformation and upgrading of China's traditional heating industry.
"AIoT + SaaS" promotes carbon neutrality in the heating industry
Nuanliu Technology is a technology-driven enterprise. Dr. Liu graduated from HVAC major of Tsinghua University, obtained more than ten invention patents, won the Beijing Invention Patent Award, and was the main compiler of many standards in the heating industry, such as Technical Specification for Energy Efficiency of Renovation in District Heating System and Specification for Energy Efficiency of Operation and Management in Central Heating System. Joined by Chief Scientist Academician NI Weidou, Nuanliu brings together technical talents in energy major, cloud technology, big data, and software R&D from Tsinghua University, MediaTek, ByteDance, etc. So far, it has obtained more than 60 patents and more than 40 software copyrights.
End-to-end system Solution of "Source, Network, Station and End" in Smart Heating
Nuanliu Technology has solved the "data" problem by developing intelligent sensors based on industrial IoT and 3D-GIS digital twin systems. Based on technology and mechanism, Nuanliu Technology has solved the "algorithm" problem by combining simulation and iterative application of various AI algorithms and resolved the "computing power" problem by a cloud solution (cloud computing) integrating public cloud, hybrid cloud, and private cloud. Relying on the deep integration of multi-granularity big data, simulation, and AI algorithm, a whole-system solution of "source, network, station and end" in the heating industry has been formed, and the data of independent and self-developed production, charging, customer service and maintenance systems are interconnected, forming a fully closed-loop SaaS cloud standardized product with flexible configuration and rapid delivery. By now, the company's business has covered 15 provinces and municipalities directly under the Central Government, with an operating area of over 150 million m2, serving many industrial leading customers.
In a project in Shandong Province, AI leakage detection algorithms and digital twin technology were used to find out the leakage points of pipe network in time, reduce losses, and ensured safety for enterprises. The Application of Digital Twin Technology Based on 3D-GIS in Heating System of the project won the gold medal of outstanding papers in the Third China Heating Academic Annual Meeting.