The Federal Government is providing up to $10 million through the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) to assist Australian businesses in monitoring and managing their operations using a new Internet of Things (IoT) network aimed at reducing energy usage.
Australian firm Thinxtra is one that will profit from the CEFC’s support.
Thinxtra will be able to expand its Sigfox Low Powered Wide Area Network (LPWAN) technology as part of a global network that connects a large number of energy-efficient devices to the internet with the help of the CEFC.
For devices that only need to transfer tiny quantities of data and have sporadic internet access, LPWAN technology is less expensive, emits fewer emissions, and extends battery life.
The system offers companies a low-cost way to track and keep an eye on equipment, including large quantities of pallets, trash cans, gas canisters, farm gates, and cattle.
By 2022, Thinxtra hopes to link 17 million things, and by the end of 2017, it expects to have a network that reaches 95% of Australians.
The IoT network of Thinxtra is already being used by more than 150 Australian companies.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of electronic devices that connect to one another through the internet to exchange data. With the help of this technology, it will no longer be necessary to spend a lot of time and effort manually managing and monitoring such equipment, which is frequently dispersed over a large region.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency and the CEFC jointly manage the Korindo Innovation Fund, which is where the CEFC’s investment will be made in order to promote innovation in clean energy technology.