Last Week in ConTech - 9 December 2024
US Government funding for low carbon materials + Meta releases RFP for nuclear power developers
Last Week in ConTech is a summary of the most important construction startup funding, news, policy changes and national project investments in the last 7 days. The goal is to provide decision makers with information on technology solutions and macro-economic trends in construction to help drive innovation in the industry.
In this issue there are:
10 Startup Fundings
1 Startup out of stealth
13 Policy and Regulatory Changes
9 New National Infrastructure Projects & Priorities
0 New investment funds
0 Acquisitions
8 News articles
14 new jobs posted - view here
Reading time: 15 mins
Does the email get cut off by your reading application? You can view the full version online here.
Startup Funding
Quality Assurance
Visibuild, an Australian startup, raised $6.6m in funding. They have developed a quality assurance solution used by owners, GCs and subcontractors allowing users to input data via a mobile app supporting real time tracking of quality inspections and defects which facilitates company wide quality reporting. More here.
[View open jobs - 1 role in Sales]
Training
Faraday, a New York startup, raised $3.3m in funding. They provide a training and certification platform to help people start their careers in the skilled trades specifically in HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning), electrician, plumbing, and solar installation programs aiming to connect professionals to local companies that will hire them and sponsor their training. More here.
Progress Tracking
ConnectedWorks, a Texan startup, received investment of $6.5m as it spun out of SNGULAR. They have developed a solution to identify and analyze production cycles in construction projects by allowing site managers to monitor vehicle performance in real-time and obtain predictions about potential incidents or bottlenecks. More here.
Notes:
The technology involves providing an identification plate with NFC technology attached to machinery.
It collects GPS and vibration data allowing project managers to access real time data such as the production cycle, loading/dumping details, activity durations, vehicle tracking, incident alerts, and operational reports.
AI
Surfaice, a San Francisco startup, raised funding from investors including Shadow Ventures. They are developing an AI agentic platform which is able to autonomously deploy highly repeatable construction projects such as EV charging stations or quick service restaurants (e.g fast food buildings). More here.
Notes:
This is an incredibly interesting solution for a number of reasons. First, I’ll define what I see AI agents as, why Surfaice have chosen to focus on repeatable construction projects and why it is incredibly interesting that Shadow Ventures have invested in them.
(FYI - this is a long explanation, feel free to skip)AI Agents
AI agents are seen as the future of AI deployment.Unlike current LLM systems, AI agents can handle complex queries by identifying their knowledge gaps, sourcing relevant information, and learning it to provide a tailored response.
For example, say you want to go on holiday to Sydney, Australia in February and you want to know how many 100mL bottles of sunscreen to bring.
A typical LLM might offer general advice but lack the ability to incorporate weather forecast data or tailor the answer to your specific needs.
In contrast, a Virtual Assistant (VA) operating as an AI agent would recognize its knowledge gaps and gather relevant information.
For instance, the VA would:
Check the weather forecast for Sydney in February.
Determine the ideal amount of sunscreen to apply based on weather conditions.
After synthesizing this information, they would calculate
The total amount of sunscreen required over my travel dates.
Dividing this value by 100 to determine how many bottles I am to bring.
This example illustrates how AI agents work:
You provide a specific, complex question.
The agent breaks it down into a list of tasks, completes them, and provides a comprehensive answer.
Additionally, you can involve a human in the loop to review the task list before execution, ensuring accuracy and relevance.
Repeatable Projects
Surfaice is focusing on repeatable project deployments.By that they mean standard construction projects such as quick service restaurants (e.g McDonalds) or EV stations where there are standard ‘playbooks’ on how they need to be delivered with minor adjustments to the local context.
These projects often have predefined construction standards set by the owner, which engineers must follow.
Their AI can be trained on hundreds of historical data points from similar projects and reference the relevant standards or playbooks (e.g. how a McDonald's restaurant should be designed and built).
For an engineer, these projects involve a standard set of tasks that must be completed, such as preparing a new construction drawing set, which could be streamlined with the assistance of an AI agent.
The process could work as follows:
The AI agent creates a task list based on the project requirements.
The engineer reviews and approves the list before the AI executes the tasks.
Surfaice’s goal is to enable users to simply say, for example, "Hey McDonald's GPT, deploy a new project in Austin, Texas," and have the relevant documentation automatically generated and delivered.
Shadow Ventures investing
Shadow Ventures, unlike most venture funds, has an inhouse CTO, Matthew Ohlman.It means that for every startup they invest in they do code reviews to understand the technical expertise of the founding team. It helps them to understand if the team has a unique edge (most VCs don’t do this).
Given the number of AI startups in the ecosystem and that Shadow Ventures invested in this platform (which is very much cutting edge), I assume that this team has an incredibly strong technical ability. They’d be well positioned to deliver this AI Agent capability vs other teams.
Industrialized Construction
Automated Architecture (AUAR), a London startup, received £341K in grant funding. They are building a distributed and automated micro-factory network to deliver sustainable timber housing. More here.
Notes:
AUAR aims to empower the industry in delivering sustainable housing by licensing its low CapEX robotic micro-factories and tech stack to a network of builders and contractors.
It operates on a hardware as a service model.
This allows existing home builders to deliver low energy houses cheaper to their clients and is in contrast to the traditional vision of centralized automation in large factories.
Additionally they have a software platform which can generate endless design variations adapted to local sites with instant cost estimation.
Building Frames
iBUILD, a Brazilian startup, raised $550K in funding. They have developed a steel frame construction system which uses galvanized steel instead of concrete and bricks for residential and commercial projects. More here.
Alternative Site Renewable energy system
Reefilla, an Italian startup, raised €4.5m in funding. They have developed a mobile charging solution for electric and light commercial vehicles which requires no installation and can be wheeled into place. They have found traction in logistics and events management sectors. More here.
Notes:
One of the critical challenges in construction is the decarbonization of the construction site.
This is generally considered to involve the electrification of construction machinery and the replacement of diesel generators.
However on urban construction sites, one of the largest sources of emissions is in the transportation of workers to and from site.
They can’t use electric vehicles as in the early stages of construction the site is not connected to the grid - there isn’t the infrastructure to support electric vehicle charging in the parking area.
This solution is used in event management where an event may be held in a public park and the electric vehicles have no connection to existing charging infrastructure.
Their charging unit is wheeled to the vehicle.
This technology can be easily deployed to a construction site parking area.
Construction Materials
FibreCoat, a German startup, raised €20m in funding. They have developed metal coated fibres which are used in a number of industries including construction. These can be incorporated into new and existing structures to improve safety and performance such as being used for resistive heating elements in drywall, environmentally sustainable design applications and electromagnetic shielding. More here.
Urban Planning
SatVu, a London startup, raised £10m in funding. They develop thermal imaging technology for earth observation which is used in a variety of use cases including identifying areas of urban heat and planning mitigation actions. More here.
Other
Hydrobox, a Kenyan startup, raised $9m in debt funding. They develop containerized hydropower plants using IoT technology for remote monitoring and management which can run off rivers (rather than requiring dams) helping remote communities to quickly access electricity with low environmental impact and requiring less approvals. They construct and operate the plants for communities. More here.
Out of Stealth
Remy, a New York startup, emerged out of stealth after 19 months. They are building a (patent pending) solution to help GCs automate their submittal compliance reviews and integrate with Procore and Autodesk. View their site here.
Policy and Regulatory Changes
States get $1.2B to build roads, highways with low-carbon materials
A new federal initiative aims to curb the emissions that come from constructing road transportation projects going forward.
Transportation agencies in 37 states and in Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico are set to receive between $14 million and $31.9 million each to help them study, track, and ultimately buy low-carbon materials.
Apartment buildings wrap up $1B in HUD funds for lower utility bills and climate upgrades
HUD announced the last $30 million of more than $1 billion spent to modernize and fix older buildings for thousands of low-income renters nationwide.
Building owners are using it to add energy efficient windows, heaters and air conditioners, electric vehicle charging stations, floodproofing, roofs that don’t get as hot, and solar panels with batteries.
Eligibility includes units where the federal government subsidizes rent for low income households, seniors and people with disabilities.
Government launches £3bn housebuilding schemes (UK)
An additional £3 billion in housing guarantees will be available to help builders apply for more accessible loans from banks and lenders.
The guarantees aim to give housebuilders the confidence to “get Britain building again”, by reducing risk for lenders and encouraging them to increase the supply of credit for housebuilders.
This follows several moves by the Labour party to deliver on their promise to build 1.5 billion homes in the next five years.
As part of the plans, the government is doubling the ENABLE Build scheme to £2 billion so SME housebuilders can support the delivery of more than 10,000 new homes.
Build-to-Rent developers will also see the Private Rented Sector Guarantee Scheme reopen, with nearly £2 billion available to increase housebuilding.
Labor Department releases guide to combat harassment in construction
Issued by DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, the guide is aimed at helping federal contractors understand the agency’s jurisdiction, clarifying what constitutes harassment and providing information to workers who may experience harassment.
The guide follows a question-and-answer format.
Major Midwest transmission line gets a big but uncertain federal boost
The Grain Belt Express, a $7 billion transmission line project that’s been more than a decade in development, has won conditional approval for a $4.9 billion federal loan guarantee.
The Grain Belt Express could enable 5 gigawatts’ worth of affordable, clean power to be developed.
A concern is that the funding will be blocked by Trump.
Bishop unveils new plan to deal with ‘hot potato’ infrastructure bids (New Zealand)
New rules will make it easier for the private sector to pitch infrastructure ideas to the Government.
The guidelines are for “market-led proposals” which will allow private sector players to bring an unsolicited idea to the Government.
This in response to when in 2018, the New Zealand Super Fund and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CPDQ) put forward a proposal to design, build, own and operate an Auckland Light Rail to transport 11,000 commuters per hour for an estimated $6 billion.
The government did not have a system to review the unsolicited idea.
Biden pushes out over $100 billion in clean energy grants as term winds down
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has awarded over $100 billion in grants via the Inflation Reduction Act.
A senior Biden administration official said the administration is on track to exceed its goal of "obligating" over 80% of available IRA grant funding by the end of Biden's term next month.
When funds are obligated, they are protected. They are subject to the terms of the contract, so when those contracts are signed and executed, this becomes a matter of contract law more than a matter of politics.
Notes:
This will have an impact on Trump’s ability to reverse the deployment of funds.
It will require 20% of construction materials to be sustainable.
This policy aims to minimise waste through methods like recycling and composting.
Shanghai implements architect-led system in Pudong New Area
The regulations, effective from Jan 1, 2025, aim to bolster the role of architects throughout the construction process, aiming to elevate both construction quality and architectural aesthetics.
The architect-led system, as defined by the regulations, mandates that the lead architect, who holds the position of chief design director or manager, assumes the responsibility of forming and overseeing a dedicated team within their design firm.
The team will provide comprehensive services to construction entities, encompassing design, technical consulting and project management throughout the construction lifecycle.
The new regulations delineate specific project categories, funded in part or in whole by the Pudong New Area government, which will fall under the new architect-led system.
The regulations also establish a framework for selecting and contracting lead architects, outlining their qualifications, responsibilities and involvement throughout the various phases of a project.
Ontario Investing $1 Billion to Help Municipalities Build More Homes (Canada)
The new Housing-Enabling Water Infrastructure (HEWI) lending stream will support the construction, expansion and rehabilitation of drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure projects that enable new homes.
New York makes $10M available for building heating and cooling tech
New York is providing $10 million to building owners and HVAC equipment manufacturers to advance heating and cooling technology for use in large buildings across the state.
The new Clean Heat for All: Packaged Terminal Heat Pump program will fund the development and demonstration of cold climate heat pumps in multifamily, senior living and hospitality buildings.
Delhi govt to pay Rs 8,000 each to over 90K workers hit by construction ban
The Delhi government decided to pay financial assistance of Rs 8,000 to each of the over 90,000 registered workers affected by the construction ban in the city due to severe air pollution.
The 90,759 tentative beneficiaries of the financial assistance are registered with the board based on self-certification that they worked for 90 days as construction workers in the preceding year.
Trump’s Tariff Threat to Top Trading Partners Roils Markets
Trump said he would impose additional 10% tariffs on goods from China and 25% tariffs on all products from Mexico and Canada.
Mexico’s auto sector is particularly exposed to a trade conflict with the US, along with factories that export electronics, plastics and other manufactured goods to US consumers.
The Mexican government estimates there’s now $800 billion annually in total trade between the nations.
Notes:
This will have an impact on the cost of inputs into construction projects as well as the manufacturing construction sector.
National Infrastructure Projects & Priorities
United States
U.S. solar generation continues to make huge gains in 2024
During the first nine months of 2024, utility-scale solar power generation (thermal and PV) output increased 30.1% from the same period in 2023.
In the month of September 2024, utility-scale solar (thermal and PV) increased 29% from the month of September 2023.
Solar accounted for 59% of U.S. generating capacity additions in the first half of 2024.
China
China-Russia gas pipeline with annual capacity of 38 billion cubic meters begins operating
The East Route natural gas pipeline, a 5,111-kilometer (3,175-mile) project connecting Russia with China and designed to provide up to 38 billion cubic meters of gas annually, began operating.
The project is considered the largest single-pipeline gas pipeline in China.
The gas pipeline underlines the growing energy cooperation with Russia, which is seeking to increase its exports to Asia following Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine and the damage to its supply infrastructure to Europe.
India
India to invest over Rs 9 trillion in power transmission by 2032
Rs 9 trillion (~USD$106b) has been planned to enhance the power transmission infrastructure capacity in India by 2032.
According to the plan, 1,91,474 circuit kilometres (ckm) of transmission lines and 1,274 Giga Volt Ampere (GVA) of transformation capacity would be added (at 220 kV and above voltage level) during the 10-year period from 2022-23 to 2031-32.
India to add 22.4 GW solar and 3.6 GW wind energy
India is expected to add 22.4 GW of solar energy capacity and 3.6 GW of wind energy capacity in 2024
As of 30 September 2024, India’s cumulative renewable energy capacity stood at 201.46 GW.
Solar energy accounted for 45% of this total, followed by wind and large hydro, each contributing 23%.
A pipeline of 111.2 GW in solar, wind, hybrid, and storage projects is anticipated to become operational over the next 4–5 years, with an additional 55.8 GW currently in the bidding stage.
Vietnam
Vietnam Parliament Approves $67 Billion High-Speed Rail Project
Vietnam will start building a $67 billion high-speed rail network to connect its northern and southern provinces in 2027.
It is to be a 1,541-kilometer (958-mile) express railway, which will cross 20 cities and provinces with a designed speed of about 350 kilometers per hour.
The project is expected to be completed by 2035.
Africa
Biden Bids To Counter China in Africa with Strategic Railway Project
Stretching 800 miles, the Lobito Railway Corridor will link the mineral-rich regions of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to Angola's Atlantic port of Lobito.
Biden announced over $560 million in new funding, including commitments expected to generate at least $200 million in additional private sector capital, for infrastructure projects along the Corridor.
It is expected to offer Western markets a more efficient source of critical minerals.
Germany
Scholz Proposes €100 Billion Investment Fund for Germany
Chancellor Olaf Scholz proposed an investment fund will help pay for the country’s modernization.
It should include both public and private money and could be used for investment in areas such as energy infrastructure or home construction.
This would only occur if his party wins the upcoming snap election on Feb 23.
Denmark
North Sea offshore wind tendering procedure: The Danish Energy Agency has not received any bids
The deadline for bidding on the first 3 GW of Denmark’s 6 GW offshore wind tendering procedure expired.
The Danish Energy Agency has not received bids for any of the three offshore wind farms put out to tender.
Big Tech
Meta joins the nuclear-powered AI fray
Facebook parent Meta is seeking developers that can bring nuclear reactors online starting in the early 2030s to support data centers and communities around them.
The company announced a "request for proposals" that targets a large pipeline — one to four gigawatts — of new generation.
It's seeking partners that can help accelerate the availability of new nuclear generators and create sufficient scale to achieve material cost reductions by deploying multiple units.
Related:
Meta also plans to invest $200 million in local road and water infrastructure upgrades and will add enough clean and renewable energy to the grid to cover 100% of the facility’s electricity use.
News
Construction Industry Braces for One-Two Punch: Tariffs and Deportations (WSJ)
Undocumented workers make up an estimated 13% of the construction industry—more than twice that of the overall workforce.
Overall, about 7.3% of home-building materials are imported.
Construction Accident Triggers $106 Million Italian Payments Outage
The outage was triggered when construction on gas roadworks damaged payments company Worldline’s network connection to its data centers in Italy.
If We Can Do It In Baltimore…Why it takes a disaster to build fast
Why rebuilds after disasters move faster than normal infrastructure projects, and what that can tell us about the political economy of building.
Written by Brian Potter, Construction Physics.
Adani Troubles Expose Messy Underpinnings of India’s Solar Boom
Back in 2020, Adani Green Energy Ltd. won a contract for 8 gigawatts of solar generation capacity, contingent on a massive expansion of cell and panel factories.
US prosecutors allege that the victory led to more than $250 million of bribes, paid or promised by Adani and associates.
Saint-Gobain Targets Threefold Growth in India by 2035
What to do if immigration agents come to your jobsite (Construction Dive)
How to prepare for Trump’s new immigration policies (Construction Dive)
If I missed anything this week, please reply and let me know! I’ll make sure to include it next week.