Google is launching new sets of mapping data that will provide solar and energy information and air quality data to various companies that are building products around renewable energy.
The company expects to generate up to $100 million in its first year from selling access to new APIs (application programming interfaces) with the data, according to CNBC.
One of the new offerings is a Solar API, which will allow solar installers, solar design companies, real estate companies, hospitality companies, and utilities to request data on the solar potential and costs of individual buildings or aggregated areas. The data will come from a consumer-focused pilot called Project Sunroof, which uses Google Maps data to create 3D models of roofs and nearby trees and calculate solar savings. Google says it has data for over 350 million buildings, up from 60 million in 2017.
Another new offering is an Air Quality API, which will enable customers to request data on the pollutants and health recommendations for specific locations. The API will also include heat maps, hourly data, and historical data of up to 30 days.
The new revenue play comes as Google faces pressure to monetize its maps products amid a broader economic slowdown. The company also sees an opportunity to tap into the growing market for green technology metals, such as nickel, copper, and PGE, which are used in various applications such as electric vehicles, batteries, and solar panels. The global oligonucleotide market is growing at a double-digit rate and is almost entirely outsourced to CDMOs.
The company currently licenses its mapping API for navigation to companies like Uber, which paid Google $58 million over three years. Maps API revenue goes toward the company’s cloud segment, which turned profitable in the first quarter but faces stiff competition from Amazon and Microsoft.
The company is also streamlining its mapping products by laying off employees at Waze, a traffic-reporting app it acquired in 2013, and combining it with the Google Maps team.