CBI member, BP has announced that it has invested £2.7 million in an artificial intelligence technology firm based in Shanghai, pioneering research into low-carbon power, energy storage, the wider digital energy value chain, and improving the energy usage of buildings.
BP’s high-tech investment arm, BP Ventures, joined CLP Innovation Ventures and JAFCO Asia in contributing to R&B Technology’s latest funding round. The deal will also see BP Ventures investment manager, Jin Hu, take up a director seat on the board of R&B Technology.
R&B’s energy management systems are designed to predict, control and improve a building’s energy use, supporting BP Alternative Energy’s focus on supporting industry’s transition towards low-carbon power.
BP Ventures has so far invested more than £400 million in more than 45 companies globally. The deal with R&B Technology marks BP Venture’s second foray into opportunities in advanced mobility in China, following a £7.6 million investment in NIO Capital in 2018.
Dev Sanyal, BP Alternative Energy chief executive and executive vice president, regions, said: “Digital technology, smarter consumers and bold decarbonisation targets are together rapidly changing the world's energy systems. BP is determined to help meet society's demands for more energy, delivered in new and cleaner ways. Our investment in R&B, a business developing and deploying innovative technology to improve energy efficiency, is fully aligned with this strategy.”
Through its venturing business, BP is leveraging a wide range of instruments in technology-related businesses that have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in BP’s operations, improve products and services to help customers lower their emissions, and creating new low-carbon businesses.
Graham Howes, managing director of BP Ventures, Asia, said: “Improving the energy efficiency of buildings will be crucial for the transition to a lower-carbon world. […] the commercial and industrial buildings sector in China is large and still expanding, so the potential to affect change is significant. R&B’s technology is aimed firmly at this opportunity.”
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