Smarter Industrial Energy Systems Through Academic Collaboration

AI innovation through collaboration 

When petrochemical engineer-turned-accountant Babatunde Animashaun founded  GoGreen AI he set out to solve a persistent industrial challenge: how to understand the operational health and energy use of every asset on a site, without the cost, complexity and safety risks of extensive IoT hardware installations. 

To advance his innovation, Babatunde used konfer, the NCUB’s digital innovation platform, to connect with academic specialists in his area. This enabled GoGreen AI to establish meaningful relationships with university experts and gain early access to promising new talent, while allowing the company to experiment with AI approaches using real-world data from the outset. 

GoGreen’s first-of-a-kind, AI-native software platform provides a cheaper, faster and safer alternative to traditional sensor-heavy approaches. By intelligently interrogating existing operational data, GoGreen AI illuminates how industrial equipment consumes energy in real time, enabling organisations to identify inefficiencies, reduce waste and optimise spend. 

In 2024, GoGreen AI secured proof-of-concept funding from Innovate UK. Now in the second stage of development and midway through an industry pilot, the company is working towards market readiness by the end of 2026. 

“There has been a lot of learning along the way,” Babatunde reflects. “My advice to any start-up is: if you have an idea, just get started. It is a long and very rewarding journey.” 

From Early Challenges to Meaningful Connections 

Babatunde signed up to konfer several years ago to explore UK academic capability in signal processing. While initial outreach efforts did not yield strong university engagement, he continued to monitor opportunities.  

At the end of 2024, he spotted collaboration calls from universities offering short industry placements for MSc students. This time, the response was immediate and positive. Three universities responded quickly, restoring his confidence in the platform. 

Two collaborations moved forward with University College London and the University of Bristol. The same AI and data science challenge was offered both to an individual MSc student and to a group cohort specialising in data science and machine learning. 

Babatunde said “konfer works as a one-stop shop for university engagement. The speed of relationship building was impressive.” 

The Challenge: Rethinking Energy Intelligence 

GoGreen AI’s proof of concept uses AI to identify the energy usage of every asset on an industrial site. The student challenge was clear: 

Can advanced analytics or AI determine whether each asset is consuming the right amount of energy, and therefore identify opportunities for real-time efficiency gains? 

Students were provided with operational datasets, contextual information such as operating hours and site location (including weather variables), and worked collaboratively with the GoGreen AI team through regular check-ins. Discussions evolved as new questions emerged, mirroring real-world project dynamics. 

While GoGreen AI was operating at a more advanced technical level, the company was particularly interested in how the students approached the problem. Each participant took a different route, and each approach had merit. Babatunde noted “It gave us insight into how they think and how steep the learning curve would be if we brought them into a larger future project.” 

Building a Talent and Knowledge Pipeline 

The collaboration delivered value on multiple fronts: 

1. Fresh perspectives on complex AI challenges 

2. A potential recruitment pipeline from relevant MSc programmes 

3. Strategic insight for future development 

4. Relationships with cutting-edge academics 

Through the process, GoGreen AI learned that student integration works best when paired with experienced team members who can provide commercial context as some academic theory does not translate directly into industrial environments, and experienced hires help bridge that gap. 

Babatunde said “You can’t throw a student in at the deep end. Pairing them with real-world experience makes the difference, and the students gain a much stronger understanding of commercial reality.” 

Transforming a Legacy Approach 

Traditional industrial data gathering relies heavily on physical IoT sensors, a model relevant in the oil and gas industry, where Babatunde began his career. But for many industries, this approach is prohibitively expensive and impractical. 

GoGreen AI offers an intelligent, non-hardware solution to a legacy problem. By analysing existing data streams, the platform avoids costly sensor rollouts while still delivering actionable insight. 

The company is currently working with the rail sector and already sees applicability across a wide range of industries. 

Konfer as a strategic innovation gateway 

Collaboration with universities and research organisations taps into UK expertise and helps build future capabilities. For GoGreen AI, konfer has become a key tool in this strategy. During their Innovate UK-funded proof of concept project, konfer proved to be the quickest way to find, and strengthen, their academic partnerships.

“konfer is my first port of call on Monday morning for new opportunities. I see commercial opportunities on konfer that aren’t available elsewhere. It’s a valuable part of the UK innovation ecosystem.” said Babatunde.

From early setbacks to successful academic partnerships, GoGreen AI’s journey demonstrates how persistence can accelerate innovation, strengthen recruitment pathways and bring ambitious AI technology closer to market. 

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