OREANDA-NEWS. ENGIE has acquired the entirety of the share capital of SIRADEL, an internationally renowned French player in the field of 3D urban modelling and a developer of software to roll out telecommunications networks and build smart cities. For over 20 years, SIRADEL has been developing innovative solutions for cities and telecoms operators, optimising radio connectivity between residents, objects and infrastructure, as well as creating urban planning solutions for the most collaborative and sustainable cities. The solutions developed by SIRADEL allow extremely accurate 3D modelling of a city , and provide a visual representation of a range of essential urban data in a realistic environment. Administrative, economic, social and technical data (buildings, urban networks, street furniture, green spaces, urban traffic, air quality, noise levels, public lighting levels, photovoltaic potential, Wi-Fi coverage in public areas, multi-level cellular coverage, high-quality geolocation for smart objects, etc.) is combined into a single shared 3D repository for the city that is accessible to decision-makers, technical departments and citizens.

The simulation engines developed by SIRADEL also allow users to dynamically and interactively assess and view how this data changes in response to urban planning decisions: for example, how are air quality and noise levels in the city centre affected if a traditional bus line is replaced with an electric-powered line? How can information exchange be facilitated between stakeholders aiming to pool their infrastructure? These tools shed light on the decision-making process in a range of urban services: mobility, renewable energy generation, security (sizing a video surveillance system).

Over the years, SIRADEL has built 3D models such as these using geo-spatial data for thousands of cities, from Santiago to Paris or to Shanghai, and also Mulhouse or smaller towns such as Saint-Gregoire, a municipality in the area of Rennes Metropole and headquarter of SIRADEL.

This acquisition illustrates ENGIE’s ambition to be the leading partner to cities and regions by providing a diverse range of tailor-made offerings combining essential infrastructure, cutting-edge services and digital solutions. Working closely with local ecosystems, ENGIE helps to design smarter, safer, more efficient and more sustainable cities. "With their key role in today’s energy revolution, towns and cities are undergoing a huge transformation and need new urban planning tools that are at the cutting edge of technology. The 3D tools developed by SIRADEL provide an objective and interactive view of the impact of planning decisions, facilitating discussions and decision-making by local authorities. This acquisition gives the Group the expertise it needs to address the new challenges faced by our clients. ENGIE is on the road to becoming the architect of urban transformation," said Isabelle Kocher, CEO of ENGIE.

"While maintaining our international expertise for telecoms players, we are delighted to be joining the ENGIE Group, a group that is at the heart of the current industrial revolution characterised by massive simultaneous changes in the world of energy and communication, which is resulting in an irreversible transformation in land planning and lifestyles. The Group has wholeheartedly adopted this truly digital change, providing a unique combination of skills to support cities in this essential development," said Laurent Bouillot, co-founder of SIRADEL.

"Alongside ENGIE, we will continue to tackle bold new challenges by using our strengths in innovation and producing 3D reference models to help cities worldwide with their transformation," said Marielle Bouillot-Le Rudulier, co-founder of SIRADEL.