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XyloPlan Announces its Launch and Introduces Fire Pathways™ Technology to Revolutionize Wildfire Risk Management

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Launch Made Possible by Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Grant

SAN FRANCISCO, July 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — XyloPlan has officially brought its wildfire risk start-up company to market, powered by a grant from the renowned Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. With a mission to use data-driven decision-making in wildfire risk management, XyloPlan introduces its Fire Pathways™ modeling technology, designed to support fire-adapted communities by assessing and mitigating risk from potentially destructive wildfires. By quantifying and decreasing risk, XyloPlan also works with insurers to increase the availability of insurance in the same fire-prone areas.

“We’re thrilled to introduce our risk assessment and prioritized mitigation technology,” said Scott Cheeseman, XyloPlan CEO. “Based on direct experience and lessons learned working with fire departments, we are offering a solution that is optimized for protecting human lives and structures and will facilitate bringing beneficial fire to the landscape in fire-prone areas — ensuring a safer, more resilient future for everyone.”

When Fire Chief Dave Winnacker engaged with XyloPlan, his goal was to address the inconsistencies in wildfire risk assessment and mitigation prescriptions relative to his field observations. Winnacker worked with the founding XyloPlan team to develop an analytics platform that assesses risk for fast-moving, wind-driven wildfires and provides vegetation treatment recommendations that disrupt the routes where an approaching wildfire could outpace firefighting response.

“Slow-moving high-intensity fires aren’t burning down homes, because firefighters have time to defend structures prior to the fire’s arrival and traditional fuel breaks are immediately ineffective the moment they are breached by fire in a single location,” Winnacker said. “Traditional approaches are modeling wildfire risk and prioritizing mitigations to reduce intensity, while we need to focus our initial efforts on defending structures and critical infrastructure from the fast moving fires associated with conflagration level structure loss.”

The Moore Foundation’s investment enables XyloPlan to develop wildfire resilience technology in partnership with communities. “We are supporting XyloPlan to build data-driven and results-oriented wildfire mitigation technology that is applicable to and co-developed with communities in fire-prone areas,” said Genny Biggs, Program Director, Wildfire Resilience Initiative at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. “By conducting Fire Pathways pilots in multiple areas, XyloPlan will demonstrate a replicable model for prioritizing wildfire mitigations that will matter most to decrease vulnerability and strengthen community resilience.”

XyloPlan’s Fire Pathways™ technology is designed to provide insurers, local governments, utilities, developers, HOAs, and residents with a consistent view of wildfire risk. By sharing an understanding of risk, community stakeholders and insurers are aligned in how risk is being priced, as well as how to prioritize mitigations that can decrease risk.

The key to XyloPlan’s novel approach to wildfire risk assessment and mitigation is its focus on the routes that will bring a wind-driven fire to a community, rather than modeling fire intensity.  Analyzing the fastest path of fire travel allows communities to understand where a fire may outpace the firefighting response, leading to catastrophic destruction. XyloPlan then uses machine learning optimization techniques to prioritize cost-effective recommendations for vegetation treatments that can disrupt and slow fire progression, buying critical time for firefighting efforts and evacuations.

Cheeseman added, “XyloPlan is modeling a shared view of risk that creates a virtuous cycle, where insurers incentivize homeowners and communities to mitigate risk in measurable and meaningful ways.”

XyloPlan has been successfully piloting with a diverse range of municipal, developer, utility and insurance industry clients and partners, including Pacific Gas and Electric, San Ramon Fire District, Rancho Mission Viejo, Lake County’s Clear Lake Environmental Research Center (CLERC), City of San Luis Obispo and Paradise Recreation and Park District.

For more information, please visit www.xyloplan.com.

About XyloPlan
With its Fire Pathways™ technology, XyloPlan creates a shared, data-driven view of wildfire risk — for insurers, local governments, utilities, developers, HOAs, and residents. XyloPlan models and prioritizes wildfire mitigations that disrupt Fire Pathways and slow wildfire spread into populated areas, supporting fire-adapted communities that can encounter wildfire without sustaining catastrophic damage. For more information, please visit https://www.xyloplan.com.

About the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Gordon and Betty Moore established the foundation to create positive outcomes for future generations. In pursuit of that vision, the foundation advances scientific discovery, environmental conservation, and the special character of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Reilly Payne / Mariana Fernandez, Studio PR
reilly@studiopr.com / mariana@studiopr.com
415.686.2338 / 925.330.5019

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SOURCE XyloPlan

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Kroll Launches Geoeconomic Risk Index to Quantify the Business Impact of Global Uncertainty

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New capability connects geopolitical and economic intelligence with Kroll data, analytics and expertise to assess impact on financial performance, risk and enterprise value

NEW YORK, Nov. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Kroll, the leading independent provider of financial and risk advisory solutions, today announced the launch of the Kroll Geoeconomic Risk Index (GRI), an authoritative headline measure that helps businesses and investors understand how geopolitical and economic risks could affect their operations, financial performance and value. The Index currently stands at 70.9 on its 0–100 scale, materially above its historical median of 50 and indicating significantly heightened geoeconomic pressure.

The GRI forms part of Kroll’s broader Geoeconomic Resilience Intelligence Platform (GRIP), which brings together external economic, geopolitical, market, policy and regulatory intelligence with Kroll’s proprietary data, analytics, modeling and expertise across valuations, risk and transactions. It is designed to go beyond monitoring events or identifying exposure by connecting developments in the external environment directly to the financial and strategic decisions facing individual businesses.

Through client-specific analysis, Kroll’s platform can assess how developments including tariffs, sanctions, regulatory change, conflict, supply-chain disruption and market volatility could potentially affect a business. The analysis can connect those developments to revenues, costs, cash flow, financing, deal economics, resilience and enterprise value, helping clients evaluate transactions, investments, operating plans and alternative scenarios. Clients can use the platform to examine an immediate event, stress-test a transaction, pre-emptively evaluate investment, compare alternative scenarios or monitor how changing conditions affect assumptions over time.

“Kroll is the first firm called when decisions are complex, contested or with material capital at risk and so the launch of the Geoeconomic Risk Index is a natural evolution for us. This new capability combines Kroll’s data and analytical technology with economic modeling and professional expertise, using AI to support evidence-led analysis. Together, this delivers unique insights that help clients make more informed decisions when operations, investments and capital are exposed to global change, and thus ultimately protecting people and deals while providing greater peace of mind,” says Jacob Silverman, Chief Executive Officer at Kroll.

“A significant external development rarely remains confined to one part of a business. Geopolitical and macroeconomic change is increasingly an input into financial decision-making rather than a separate risk discussion,” adds Matthew Corkery, Managing Director, Kroll Economics. “For a Chief Financial Officer, investor or board, knowing that risk has changed is only the beginning. They need to understand whether it changes the return on an investment, the cost of borrowing, the resilience of a business model or where capital should be deployed. Kroll sits at the intersection of value, risk and transactions, which means we can connect these questions rather than examine them in isolation.”

The Kroll GRI stood at 70.9 on 9 November 2026, 3.2 points above its October reading of 67.7, as heightened market-implied risk added to persistent energy pressure following the U.S. midterm elections.

It points to an important divergence: geopolitical, trade, commodity and energy pressures remain elevated, while broader financial conditions have so far been less affected. Following the U.S. midterm elections, financial-market volatility added to persistent energy pressure, sharpening the question of whether repricing remains contained or begins to affect credit conditions, investment plans and project delivery. Greater volatility challenges the resilience picture but does not itself establish tighter credit or weaker activity. Financing and investment are therefore immediate watchpoints.

For more information about the Kroll Geoeconomic Risk Index and Kroll Geoeconomic Resilience Intelligence Platform, visit: https://www.kroll.com/en/tools-and-platforms/kroll-geoeconomic-risk-index

About Kroll

As the leading independent provider of financial and risk advisory solutions, Kroll leverages our unique insights, data and technology to help clients stay ahead of complex valuation demands. Kroll’s team of more than 6,500 professionals worldwide continues the firm’s nearly 100-year history of trusted expertise spanning risk, governance, transactions and valuation. Our advanced solutions and intelligence provide clients the foresight they need to create an enduring competitive advantage. At Kroll, our values define who we are and how we partner with clients and communities. Learn more at kroll.com.

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SOURCE Kroll

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How Fibocom Helped Bring Suntek’s Robotic Mowers into Mass Production

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MUNICH, Nov. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — In a family garden, bare soil and fallen leaves can confuse a robotic mower’s understanding of the lawn. A low-hanging branch presents another challenge: detecting an obstacle is one thing, knowing how far away it is can be another. Across larger properties, reliable positioning and route planning become just as important as cutting the grass.

As electronica 2026 takes place in Munich, Fibocom and Suntek are highlighting the commercial progress of two robotic mower designs built on Fibocom’s established solutions: an entry-level monocular-vision model and a flagship combining stereo vision with RTK positioning.

For lawns up to 600 m², Fibocom’s monocular vision solution uses a single camera and AI algorithms to identify grass boundaries and obstacles, plan mowing routes and operate without buried perimeter wires. Its streamlined sensor design balances hardware cost, complexity and ease of deployment.

For larger, more complex gardens, Fibocom’s stereo vision and RTK solution adds depth perception and high-precision positioning. Stereo cameras capture spatial information about obstacles, including overhanging branches, while visual-inertial odometry (VIO) and RTK positioning support mapping and navigation.

Suntek’s flagship mower, powered by the Rockchip RK3576, integrates stereo cameras, RTK, an IMU and wheel odometry. It supports resume-mowing functionality and covers lawns up to 2,000 m².

Turning these capabilities into commercial products requires more than hardware integration. Fibocom supplies camera modules, algorithm boards, motor-drive boards and, for the flagship, an RTK board, alongside proprietary perception, positioning, navigation, path-planning and energy-management algorithms.

Real gardens also challenge algorithms in unexpected ways. Bare soil, fallen leaves, dark lines on the ground and thin dried leaves can interfere with lawn segmentation. Fibocom has refined its models through multiple rounds of training with challenging field samples, while improving back-and-forth mowing paths, missed-area mowing and resume-mowing logic.

Engineering support continues after production begins. Field feedback and operating logs inform root-cause analysis, software updates and validation, helping Suntek improve product performance in real-world environments.

Suntek’s monocular-vision mower has achieved commercial-scale deployment in Europe. Its stereo-vision and RTK flagship entered initial mass production in Q4 2025, with production continuing in 2026 and sales expanding into North America.

Mass production marks the beginning of continuous improvement through real-world use. As SUNTEK’s robotic mowers reach more gardens, Fibocom continues to support the company with proprietary algorithms, core hardware and ongoing engineering expertise, turning user feedback into improvements in perception, navigation and mowing performance. These refinements help SUNTEK deliver a more reliable user experience, earn user recognition and build market trust.

About Fibocom

Fibocom, founded in 1999, is China’s first wireless communication module company listed on both the A-share and H-share markets. Fibocom leverages wireless communication and artificial intelligence as its core technologies to provide integrated hardware and software solutions that empower industry applications. These solutions accelerate the transformation from “Connect Everything” to “Intelligent Connectivity” across diverse industries.

Fibocom’s one-stop solutions encompass cellular communication, AI, automotive, and GNSS modules, as well as AI toolchains, supporting industry-side and mainstream large model integration, and providing AI Agent, global connectivity, and cloud services, driving the digital intelligence upgrades in industries such as robotics, consumer electronics, low-altitude economy, intelligent transportation, smart retail, and smart energy.

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SOURCE Fibocom Wireless Inc.

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Climate Institute launches cutting-edge data tool tracking Canada’s progress toward building a clean economy

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Data tracker offers a new way to measure climate progress with dozens of leading indicators of Canada’s energy transition.

OTTAWA, ON, Nov. 12, 2026 /CNW/ — The Canadian Climate Institute has launched a first-of-its-kind data visualization tool that provides a new approach to climate progress tracking in Canada using leading and lagging indicators of clean technology adoption and emissions reductions.

The tool–called the Climate Progress Tracker–was developed by the Institute’s 440 Megatonnes project using more than 40 indicators of the country’s transition to a cleaner, more competitive economy. It provides close-to-real-time data across five major signals of climate progress: electrification, clean energy, emissions progress, industrial performance, and the clean economy.

Tracking both leading and lagging indicators across these five signals makes it clear where efforts are showing promise, and where stronger policy is needed to accelerate Canada’s energy transition and build a cleaner economy. Some leading indicators show bright spots of progress as the country deploys and exports more clean technology. Broader trends are mixed or negative, however, with national emissions plateauing and insufficient progress being made on clean electrification–the foundation of a more resilient, competitive economy.   

KEY FINDINGS

Among the positive findings: the tracker shows the country’s electric vehicle market share has nearly doubled over the past year and a half, reaching 13 per cent this August. That’s up from just 7 per cent in February 2025, following a crash in sales due to a rollback in government support. Wind and solar power capacity has grown by nearly 7 gigawatts since 2020, an increase of more than 40 per cent. Battery storage capacity has ramped up more than sixfold since 2020, rising to almost 900 MW in January 2026.

Clean technologies are growing in other ways. Clean tech exports have grown by nearly 1.8 times their 2020 levels in 2026. The share of made-in-Canada clean tech has also grown, up 11 per cent since 2020, with 81 per cent of the share of Canada’s clean technology market now supplied by domestically manufactured products rather than imports in August 2026.

Yet overall trends show Canada facing headwinds in its energy transition. Electricity is not yet growing as a share of the country’s energy use, though that could change as governments follow through on a commitment to double Canada’s electricity supply. The country’s power grids are also not getting cleaner in general. Although wind and solar power has grown, some hydro and nuclear power have come offline temporarily, and gas-fired power has filled that gap. As a result, the share of non-emitting power generation in August 2026 dropped 6 percentage points from the same month in 2020.

Likewise, Canada continues to make limited progress reducing emissions. The tracker provides a broader picture of climate progress by pairing leading indicators with new monthly emissions estimates that are tallied in near real time, with just a three-month delay. That can provide a preliminary look at emissions six months ahead of the Institute’s annual Early Estimate of National Emissions, and more than a year before official government numbers are released.

The latest data on the tracker show that Canada’s emissions appear to be plateauing: after a slight increase in 2025, emissions decreased slightly in the first half of 2026. However, that decrease still leaves Canada far from achieving its climate targets. 

Tracking leading and lagging indicators of progress is a growing practice globally as governments, investors, and analysts seek more current, data-driven signals to inform decision making. Similar frameworks have been adopted by climate councils in the UK, Sweden, and Australia; by publicly available platforms like the Systems Change Lab and Ember; and by many private sector firms tracking capital flows and energy system trends.

The 440 Megatonnes team will continue to develop new indicators in the year ahead, including measures of clean investment. Ultimately, the new interactive tool is meant to provide a more actionable view of Canada’s progress towards decarbonization, showing where governments can prioritize efforts and investment to ensure future progress aligns with commitments.

QUOTES

“Canada’s climate progress is about more than just emissions–it’s about a broader transition to clean, electric technologies that are remaking global energy markets in real time. Our Climate Progress Tracker is the only tool of its kind in Canada to offer a broader picture of this progress with easy-to-use data and visualizations showing how the country is building a cleaner economy across sectors.”

— Rick Smith, President, Canadian Climate Institute

“The Climate Progress Tracker is an interactive way for people to access a wide range of data showing how Canada is transitioning to a cleaner economy–from electric vehicle and heat pump sales to detailed emissions estimates that are available nowhere else. It’s a one-stop-shop for energy experts, policymakers, journalists and others interested in Canada’s progress adopting clean technologies using dozens of the latest graphs and charts profiling the energy transition.”

— Ross Linden-Fraser, Acting Director, 440 Megatonnes

RESOURCES

Data tool | Climate Progress TrackerInsight | Introducing the Climate Progress TrackerInsight | Early estimate finds that Canada’s emissions increased in 2025 as clean electrification laggedInsight | Canada is now more than 20 years behind its 2030 target, with net zero nowhere in sight

About the Canadian Climate Institute 

The Canadian Climate Institute is Canada’s leading climate change policy research organization. The Institute produces rigorous analysis, economic modelling, and in-depth research focused on incentivizing clean economic growth and low-carbon competitiveness, reducing emissions and accelerating Canada’s net zero energy transition, and making our economy and infrastructure more resilient to a warming climate.

climateinstitute.ca

SOURCE Canadian Climate Institute

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