Partnership launches Living Lab to test decarbonisation tech

Hitachi, The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and NTT DATA have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish a partnership aimed at expanding Green Transformation (GX) business in Australia.

Under this MOU, the UTS campus will be used as a Living Laboratory, where industry, academia, government and citizens co-create new technologies and services, gathering feedback from users within an environment where services and products are used.

The partnership hopes the Living Lab will serve as a real-world environment for the development, value verification and commercialisation of advanced GX solutions, as it aims to establish a scalable proving ground for decarbonisation that can be effectively implemented across the Australian market.

The first initiative under this MOU is the Australian localisation of Hitachi’s ESG data management solution, EcoAssist-Enterprise. The solution is being adapted to align with Australia’s stringent environmental frameworks, including the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS).

Initial value verification conducted across multiple UTS buildings has confirmed the solution’s applicability in visualising and managing energy consumption within the Australian context. Following this success, the partnership will expand the deployment at UTS before wider market rollout.

The integration of EcoAssist-Enterprise with NTT DATA’s AI-based air-conditioning optimisation solution, HUCAST automatically adjusts air-conditioning systems in real time. The partnership said this approach ensures that energy efficiency does not come at the cost of occupant comfort, representing a leap in smart building technology for the region.

Beyond the commercial building sector, the partnership intends to leverage the insights gained from the Living Laboratory to expand GX solutions into other industries.

Image caption: Hitachi, The University of Technology Sydney and NTT DATA sign MOU to accelerate green transformation in Australia. Image: Supplied