Together, construction and the built environment account for more than a third of global energy consumption and CO2 emissions. That is why ANET - the fund with which APG, on behalf of pension fund ABP, wants to stimulate the energy transition in the Netherlands - invests in VIKTOR. Thanks to this software platform, engineers can easily design a custom software application to make their projects more efficient and sustainable.
The software platform VIKTOR enables engineers to create custom applications that help reduce material use and CO2 emissions on the construction site. Designing an application is simple, so engineers only need limited ICT knowledge to work with it. For example, companies that already use VIKTOR today were able to plan the best location for wind farms and the optimal foundation for wind turbines. This demonstrably reduced the number of transport movements and meant that less concrete and other raw materials were needed.
Longest immersed tunnel in the world
A good example is the construction of the Fehmarnbelt tunnel between Germany and Denmark. This tunnel, 18 kilometers long, will consist of a four-lane highway and two electrified railway lines. With VIKTOR, substantially less steel is used during the construction of this longest immersed road and rail tunnel in the world. This saves the emission of thousands of tons of CO2 for the production of the steel."In addition, VIKTOR contributes to greater efficiency through the digitization of project processes in construction," says ANET investor Rutger van Wersch of APG.
VIKTOR is currently already working with companies such as Arcadis, Heijmans, Boskalis, VolkerWessels, Ballast Nedam and BAM. ANET and two other parties are now making a capital injection of 5.1 million. Van Wersch: 'The following applies to the energy transition: all hands on deck. All possible means must be used to achieve the CO2 targets: from more education to wind turbines and from faster permits to software applications.'
With the investment, VIKTOR will mainly further expand the international company base. In addition, the platform will be made accessible to any engineer, with the goal that the app will have a total of 100,000 users in two years.
This investment is made by APG through the ABP Netherlands Energy Transition Fund (ANET), which was set up specifically for investments in projects and companies that focus on innovative solutions for the energy transition. With ANET, ABP is fulfilling the commitment of the financial sector, including the pension funds, to contribute to the financing of the energy transition in the Netherlands. ANET focuses on three parts of the energy transition, namely energy generation, distribution & storage and efficient use of energy. The investment in VIKTOR mainly relates to that last element.
For more information: VIKTOR: Build and share awesome engineering apps with Python