Acciona buys stake in SAALG Geomechanics

The technology company has raised €3.65m through an operation partially funded by the European Commission's EIC Accelerator program, in a mixed model of capital investment and subsidies, with Acciona as lead investor and Creand Crèdit Andorrà as financial supporter. SAALG Geomechanics aims raise a total of €5m.

Acciona made the investment under its I'mnovation innovation programme. Through this initiative, the company gives start-ups the opportunity to collaborate on real projects by applying their innovative solutions for the progress of society and environmental protection.

After a successful pilot project in direct collaboration with SAALG’s business teams, Acciona decided to invest in the company. 

Acciona said more than 30% of tunnel construction projects worldwide experience geotechnical problems that lead to cost overruns or delays.

“The new functionalities of the Daarwin software, based on machine learning algorithms, make it possible to predict a TBM's forward speed, detect geotechnical anomalies in advance, assist TBM pilots in optimising tunnelling phases, and gather information for use in future projects. The new functionalities of this solution, which represents a significant increase in safety, efficiency and sustainability, are the first step towards the autonomous TBM,” said Acciona.

Established in 2016, SAALG Geomechanics has been involved in more than 50 civil engineering, large building and mining projects worldwide, including tunnels, large excavations and roads in more than 15 countries. Since 2020, its Daarwin software has been used on HS2.