West Midlands tech innovators selected to help improve public services

Nine companies with ideas that could supercharge Birmingham’s public services have been named today as participants of the new DIATOMIC Accelerator, delivered by Connected Places Catapult.

Funding of £500,000 is available to support trials on the programme, with the cohort having an opportunity to develop and test their solutions which could deliver improvements in the management of housing, parks and waste in Birmingham. Companies on the accelerator will also have access to business support and coaching from Catapult specialists.

SMEs on the accelerator programme will focus on tackling four pressing challenges faced by urban authorities: namely ‘data insights’, ‘performance’, ‘citizen engagement’ and ‘knowledge sharing’.

Meet the nine companies and their innovations:

Air Zone Tech has developed a residential smart ventilation technology called Think.Air™ that protects people’s health and wellbeing whilst contributing towards Net Zero.

Chimni offers property owners a digital property logbook, providing a secure record of key documents including building work, certification and smart device accounts.

Furbnow helps homeowners looking to invest in energy efficiency solutions in their property to reduce their bills and carbon emissions.

Kagool is a global data and analytics specialist, and a Microsoft partner, which offers missed bins detection using cameras on board waste collection vehicles, GPS and telematics.

NolijWork is an early-stage software startup that has produced a service diagnostic tool / model that analyses operational processes from data, to understand service performance and identify opportunities for improvement.

Novoville is a cloud-based citizen engagement tool allowing residents to apply for benefits, pay bills, report environmental problems and procure repair, maintenance and decarbonisation work for their homes.

Osmium delivers real-time asset management services including energy monitoring for buildings. We are Birmingham-based and aim to make a significant contribution to the region’s development as a centre for innovative sustainable technology.

Secure Sensor Innovative Design is an Internet of Things zero carbon specialist, whose software, ‘Safe House’, monitors the environmental conditions of a property and the surroundings of an individual, using sensors and alerts when the property may be at risk of mould and damp.

Tenants Hub Tech Ltd offers building and city-wide fault management software; technology powering the future of civic management.

The DIATOMIC Accelerator is being led by Connected Places Catapult in collaboration with Birmingham City Council, STEAMhouse and the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce. It is part of the wider West Midlands Innovation Accelerator, which is designed to bolster the region’s innovation and R&D capability and spark commercial growth and investment. The West Midlands Innovation Accelerator is delivered in partnership with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Innovate UK and the West Midlands Combined Authority.