Seven closed. One left, and it needs a bench in the ground.
On engineering we were always ahead by a wide margin: roughly 4 times the array and 5 times the storage of the seat-first incumbents[4],[5]. On credibility they were ahead, because they had installs, certificates, warranties and fleet software and we had drawings. Since then we have published the compliance programme, the per-subsystem warranty and spares pricing, the fleet platform, the freedom to operate read-across, the buyer pack, the accessible variant and the imagery rule. Seven of the eight gaps are closed on paper. The eighth is an install base, and no document produces one.
8
Gaps tracked
Verified7
Closed and published on this platform
Published1
Open, needs a built and sited unit
Open4
Workstreams
CommittedEight areas a rival was ahead, and where each one stands today.
Each card names who beat us and with what published claim, then splits the response into work that needed nothing but discipline, which is now done and linked, and work that cannot happen until a unit is manufactured and sited. Where manufacture is the blocker, the card says so rather than dressing a promise up as progress.
Install base and references
Include Steora publishes over 2,000 benches in more than 550 cities. Kinley and the UK street furniture majors both show installed-site photography.
Action now, no product required
- ·Signed letters of intent from three Greater Manchester host sites, each with an address, a host contact and a target install window.
- ·Published monitoring method: what we will log, at what interval, and how a buyer can audit it.
- ·A demonstration rig of the electrical stack on a bench-top frame, so the power path can be witnessed before the furniture exists.
Action at first build and install
- ·Three installs with dates, and a public performance log of kWh harvested, charges delivered and uptime per unit.
- ·Named reference contacts a procurement officer can telephone.
Blocked until manufacture
An install base cannot be faked or accelerated on paper. Until the first unit is built and sited, this row stays open by definition.
- Owner
- Commercial and delivery
- Target
- First pilot live within one quarter of tooling sign-off
- Scorecard movement
- Design intent to Verified with named sites and logged output
- Evidence produced
- Pilot register with install dates, photography and a performance log
Published certification
Kinley states ISO 9001 and BS EN conformity. Steora states CE and EN 10346 on its own pages. We currently state design intent.
Action now, no product required
- ·Compliance matrix published now: every standard we intend to hold, the clause it covers, the test house, the sample count and the cost.
- ·Design files and calculation packs completed to the point a notified body can quote against them.
- ·UKCA and CE route decided and written down, including the conformity assessment path for the battery and conversion electronics.
- ·ISO 9001 gap analysis against our own manufacturing procedures, with the corrective actions listed.
Action at first build and install
- ·BS EN 581 seating strength and stability tests on a production sample.
- ·IEC 62109 conversion, IP65 enclosure ingress and UN 38.3 battery transport tests, each with a certificate number published on the platform.
Blocked until manufacture
Certificates require physical samples. The test schedule, cost and route can all be published before then, and will be.
- Owner
- Engineering
- Target
- Matrix published. Certificate numbers follow the production sample.
- Scorecard movement
- Design intent to Verified with certificate numbers
- Evidence produced
- Compliance pack listing standard, test house, sample, date and certificate number
Published Compliance matrix is live on this platform now, so the paper side of this row is closed and checkable.
Real photography
The seat-first incumbents photograph installed units in real streets. A render-led catalogue is a weakness we only hold over rivals if our own imagery is honest.
Action now, no product required
- ·Every render on the platform labelled as a render, at the image, not in a footnote.
- ·Photography brief written: daylight, dusk, occupied, wet weather, and a close frame on the reclaimed module glass and the composite plank edge.
- ·Process photography of the real inputs we already handle: harvested modules, machined timber, pellet feedstock.
Action at first build and install
- ·One physically built unit photographed on site in daylight and at dusk, with people using it.
- ·Renders retired from the product pages as photographs replace them.
- Owner
- Brand
- Target
- Labelling live. Site photography at first full-size build.
- Scorecard movement
- Unlabelled imagery to labelled renders now, photography at first build
- Evidence produced
- Image credit line on every asset stating render or photograph, and the date
Published Imagery rule and prototype programme is live on this platform now, so the paper side of this row is closed and checkable.
Fleet management platform
Include sells Solos as a named fleet platform. We describe monitoring without naming a product a buyer can log into.
Action now, no product required
- ·Name and specify the fleet view: per-bench uptime, kWh harvested, charges delivered, battery state of charge, load shedding events and fault alerts.
- ·Build the operator login and the dashboard against simulated telemetry, so the software is finished before the hardware arrives.
- ·Define the telemetry contract over the EN/ABEL mesh: message shape, interval, retry and offline buffering.
- ·Publish the tiering: a free host view, an operator fleet view, and an open public uptime page.
Action at first build and install
- ·First unit reporting live into the fleet view, with the public uptime page fed by real telemetry.
- Owner
- Software and EN/ABEL
- Target
- Published. Live telemetry with the first pilot.
- Scorecard movement
- Described to Verified as a named product with a login
- Evidence produced
- Named fleet view with an operator login and a public uptime page
Published Canopei Fleet is live on this platform now, so the paper side of this row is closed and checkable.
Warranty and lifecycle terms
Competitors publish battery chemistry, cycle life and warranty years. We publish neither warranty nor spares terms.
Action now, no product required
- ·Warranty schedule by subsystem: structure, composite planks, timber, canopy glass, reclaimed modules, battery, electronics and mesh node, each with its own term.
- ·A stated derating position for second-life modules: measured output at intake, the guaranteed floor, and what we replace if it is not met.
- ·Spares price list at part level, and plank-level repair instructions so a site team can fix a seat without a service visit.
- ·End-of-life take-back commitment covering modules, battery and composite, with the return route named.
Action at first build and install
- ·Field failure data feeding a first revision of the warranty terms rather than a marketing promise.
- Owner
- Commercial
- Target
- Published ahead of first sale.
- Scorecard movement
- Absent to Published, ahead of first sale
- Evidence produced
- Warranty schedule, spares price list, repair guide and take-back commitment
Published Warranty and lifecycle is live on this platform now, so the paper side of this row is closed and checkable.
Freedom to operate
The Solar Range holds UK patent GB2542927 over a solar canopy table arrangement, and may hold registered designs alongside it.
Action now, no product required
- ·Written freedom-to-operate opinion from a UK patent attorney on GB2542927 and any registered designs in the class.
- ·Claim chart mapping each independent claim against our canopy geometry, mounting and cable routing.
- ·Design-around note held ready, so a claim that bites changes a bracket rather than a business plan.
- ·Our own filing decision recorded: what in the reclaimed-module mounting and composite plank system is worth protecting.
- Owner
- Legal
- Target
- Read-across published. Attorney opinion before the first UK quotation.
- Scorecard movement
- Open risk to a written legal position on file
- Evidence produced
- FTO opinion and claim chart, reviewed before any UK canopy table quotation
Published Freedom to operate position is live on this platform now, so the paper side of this row is closed and checkable.
Procurement readiness
Furnitubes, Environmental Street Furniture and the other majors already sit on the frameworks and standing lists our buyers purchase through.
Action now, no product required
- ·Framework route confirmed and named, with the qualification criteria and the next submission window.
- ·A one-page specification a buyer can paste into a tender: dimensions, loads, standards, warranty, lead time and price.
- ·Social value evidence packaged against the Greater Manchester TOMs measures, with the calculation shown.
- ·Standard commercial pack: insurance certificates, method statements, risk assessments and a public-liability position on open sockets.
Action at first build and install
- ·Framework submission supported by the first installed reference site.
- Owner
- Commercial
- Target
- Buyer pack published. Framework submission with the first reference site.
- Scorecard movement
- Not present to Framework-ready with a tender-ready specification
- Evidence produced
- Named framework route, specification sheet and social value evidence pack
Published Buyer pack is live on this platform now, so the paper side of this row is closed and checkable.
Inclusive access
SELS markets ADA-compliant seating. We publish no accessible configuration at all.
Action now, no product required
- ·An accessible variant drawn and dimensioned: wheelchair table clearance, knee depth, approach envelope and a firm level standing area.
- ·Socket and charge point reach heights inside an accessible range, stated as numbers.
- ·Contrast, tactile edge and wayfinding treatment specified for partially sighted users.
- ·Review against Equality Act guidance and BS 8300 for external seating, with the clauses cited.
Action at first build and install
- ·Accessible variant built and reviewed on site with a disabled users' panel.
- Owner
- Engineering and brand
- Target
- Published. On-site review with a users' panel at first build.
- Scorecard movement
- Silent to Published accessible configuration with dimensions
- Evidence produced
- Accessible variant drawing set with reach heights and approach envelope
Published Accessible variant is live on this platform now, so the paper side of this row is closed and checkable.
A programme, sequenced, rather than a list of good intentions.
Three of the four can be driven to completion on paper. Only the certification tests, the production sample and the live telemetry wait on manufacture.
Product and engineering
The furniture itself, taken from a specified design to a design that has been tested, repaired and made reachable by everybody.
- 01
Accessible variant drawn and dimensioned
Table clearance, knee depth, approach envelope and socket reach heights published as numbers.
Now, before a unit exists - 02
Wind uplift and load case signed off
Canopy uplift to BS EN 1991-1-4 with the terrain category and site factors stated.
Now, before a unit exists - 03
IP65 enclosure and battery fire case closed
Enclosure detail, venting, thermal limits and the fire risk assessment for a public setting.
Now, before a unit exists - 04
Plank-level repair designed in
Any single composite plank or timber slat replaceable on site with hand tools.
Now, before a unit exists - 05
Production sample built and witnessed
The sample that goes to the test houses and into the first photography.
At first build and install
Certification and compliance
The gap that most obviously separates us from Kinley and Steora, and the one most within our control on paper.
- 01
Compliance matrix published
Standard, clause, test house, sample count, cost and target date, before a single test is booked.
Now, before a unit exists - 02
UKCA and CE route decided
Conformity assessment path for conversion electronics and the battery pack, written down.
Now, before a unit exists - 03
ISO 9001 gap analysis complete
Our manufacturing procedures measured against the standard, with corrective actions listed.
Now, before a unit exists - 04
BS EN 581, IEC 62109, IP65 and UN 38.3 certificates published
Certificate numbers on the platform, not intentions.
At first build and install
Warranty, spares and lifecycle
Buyers of street furniture buy a twenty-year liability, not a product. Terms are how that liability is priced.
- 01
Warranty schedule by subsystem
Separate terms for structure, composite, timber, glass, modules, battery, electronics and mesh node.
Now, before a unit exists - 02
Second-life module derating statement
Measured output at intake, the guaranteed floor, and the replacement rule if it is missed.
Now, before a unit exists - 03
Spares price list and repair guide
Part-level pricing and site-repairable instructions, published rather than quoted on request.
Now, before a unit exists - 04
Take-back commitment live
Named return route for modules, battery and composite at end of life.
Now, before a unit exists - 05
Terms revised against field data
Real failure rates replace assumed ones.
At fleet scale
Software and fleet
Steora sells Solos. Software is the one competitive gap that can be entirely closed before the first bench exists.
- 01
Fleet view named and specified
Uptime, kWh harvested, charges delivered, state of charge, shed events and faults, per bench.
Now, before a unit exists - 02
Operator login built against simulated telemetry
The dashboard is finished and demonstrable before hardware ships.
Now, before a unit exists - 03
Telemetry contract over the mesh defined
Message shape, interval, retry and offline buffering across EN/ABEL nodes.
Now, before a unit exists - 04
Public uptime page live
Anyone can check whether the benches are working, without asking us.
At first build and install
Every action, its horizon and its evidence.
The same eight rows, flattened so a buyer or an investor can read the whole programme in one pass and see what evidence lands when.
| Area | Horizon | Owner | Evidence produced | Confidence movement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Install base and references | At first build and install | Commercial and delivery | Pilot register with install dates, photography and a performance log | Design intent to Verified with named sites and logged output |
| Published certification | Now, before a unit exists | Engineering | Compliance pack listing standard, test house, sample, date and certificate number | Design intent to Verified with certificate numbers |
| Real photography | Now, before a unit exists | Brand | Image credit line on every asset stating render or photograph, and the date | Unlabelled imagery to labelled renders now, photography at first build |
| Fleet management platform | Now, before a unit exists | Software and EN/ABEL | Named fleet view with an operator login and a public uptime page | Described to Verified as a named product with a login |
| Warranty and lifecycle terms | Now, before a unit exists | Commercial | Warranty schedule, spares price list, repair guide and take-back commitment | Absent to Published, ahead of first sale |
| Freedom to operate | Now, before a unit exists | Legal | FTO opinion and claim chart, reviewed before any UK canopy table quotation | Open risk to a written legal position on file |
| Procurement readiness | Now, before a unit exists | Commercial | Named framework route, specification sheet and social value evidence pack | Not present to Framework-ready with a tender-ready specification |
| Inclusive access | Now, before a unit exists | Engineering and brand | Accessible variant drawing set with reach heights and approach envelope | Silent to Published accessible configuration with dimensions |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column
Closing their lead is housekeeping. This is the part they cannot copy.
Certificates, warranties and fleet software are all purchasable. What follows would require a competitor to change what kind of company they are.
Array at canopy scale, not seat scale
A seat-mounted strip is limited by the seat. Once you build a shade canopy people already want, the array is a consequence of the amenity rather than a compromise against it. Copying the watts means copying the canopy.
Second-life modules as the default input
Every rival buys new modules because their supply chain is a purchase order. Ours is a harvest, test and derate process with a stated output floor. That is an operating capability, not a specification line.
A composite we compound ourselves
Recycled plastic with pine and hemp cellulose, machined Christmas tree timber. The competition specifies tropical hardwood, aluminium and galvanised steel bought at market. Our material cost falls as our supply network grows.
Free charging as stated policy
Not a feature, a rule: charging is free, and when energy is short it is charging that sheds so the light and the radio survive. The priority order is published so nobody has to trust us about it.
Mesh nodes as infrastructure
A Wi-Fi hotspot serves the bench. An EN/ABEL mesh node serves the street, and every additional bench makes the network denser. The value compounds across the estate rather than sitting in the unit.
Two cellular lanes with one job each
Every rival gives a bench a single connection, so public traffic and bench operation share a pipe. We run one SIM for the public hotspot only and a second for the mesh control plane only, both multi-network switching and cryptographically bound to the device. Congestion on the free Wi-Fi can never reach the bench.
One donated bench for every four sold
Funded from the profit pledge and sited in the grower regions that supply the deck material, so the give-back is structurally tied to the supply chain rather than bolted on as sponsorship. No competitor in the category publishes any give-back at all.
The whole loop, not two steps of it
Twelve steps from somebody else's disposal cost through to a tenth of profit returned. The strongest rival in the category runs four of them. Copying that is founding a different company, not shipping a product revision.
Manchester manufacture and social value
An importer cannot score local content, apprenticeships or Greater Manchester TOMs measures. We can show the jobs, the spend retained and the tax paid in the borough that is buying.
The supply chain is the give-back, not a cost line.
Our competitors buy tropical hardwood, aluminium and galvanised steel at market. We take material that growers and councils currently pay to dispose of, which means the money flows the other way: they save a disposal cost, we gain a feedstock, and the local work of collecting, drying and decorticating stays in the region that supplied it. Nothing below is a signed contract, and each row states its status.
United Kingdom, Greater Manchester and the North West
In discussion- What they supply
- Post-season Christmas trees collected through council partnerships in January.
- What the grower gains
- Councils and growers avoid a per-tonne chipping or landfill gate fee on material they currently pay to move.
- What the community keeps
- Collection, limbing and kiln-drying work sited locally, plus the Manchester line jobs that follow the timber.
United Kingdom, Black Farmers' Association network
In discussion- What they supply
- Hemp stalk and shive biomass left after fibre and seed harvest.
- What the grower gains
- Disposal, haulage and compliance cost removed, and a certificate of destination for the residue.
- What the community keeps
- Farm income retained in the growing region rather than spent on waste handling, and a share of the profit pledge returned to it.
European Union grower co-ops
Offer- What they supply
- Baled hemp residue from established fibre co-ops, aggregated at co-op scale.
- What the grower gains
- A named outlet for a residue stream that is otherwise burned or ploughed in at cost.
- What the community keeps
- Local decortication and baling work at the co-op, ahead of any second production line in the EU phase.
African grower partnerships
Offer- What they supply
- Stalk biomass from smallholder and co-operative hemp cultivation.
- What the grower gains
- Payment for material currently treated as waste, on published terms rather than a spot price.
- What the community keeps
- A stated share of the profit pledge directed to social care, housing and farmer support in the supplying region.
10%
Of profit pledged back to supplying regions
CommittedFree
Charging, as stated policy with published load priority
CommittedOffer
Status of every unsigned grower agreement on this page
VerifiedWhat you can check today, at first install, and at fleet scale.
Best in class is not a claim we get to make about ourselves. It is a set of things a buyer can independently verify, in a stated order.
Today
- ·The specification register: every resolved engineering and cost parameter with its method.
- ·The assumption register: every modelled figure, its derivation and its sensitivity.
- ·The competitor references: each rival claim with publisher, URL and check date.
- ·The compliance matrix, warranty schedule, spares list and accessible variant drawings as each is published.
At first build and install
- ·Certificate numbers for seating, conversion, ingress and battery transport.
- ·Site photography of a real unit in daylight and at dusk, labelled as photography.
- ·A performance log of kWh harvested, charges delivered and uptime per bench.
- ·Named reference hosts a procurement officer can telephone.
At fleet scale
- ·The public uptime page, fed by live telemetry rather than a report we write.
- ·Take-back returns actually processed, by tonnage and material.
- ·Warranty claim rates and field failure data against the published schedule.
- ·Mesh coverage measured across the estate rather than modelled.
Where the competitor claims come from
Every position on this page is read from the rival's own published pages on 23 August 2026, and is compared side by side on the competitor watch page.
Every competitor claim, with its source.
Each entry was read on 23 August 2026. If a rival later publishes a figure they currently withhold, this list changes rather than our narrative.
Sources
Checked 23 August 2026
- [1]
Solar Canopy: solar picnic table and bench with charging · The Solar Range
The closest UK canopy table product, its charging and connectivity feature set, and UK patent GB2542927.
Verified
- [2]
Solar charging stations and outdoor furniture collection · Smart Era Lighting Systems (SELS)
The SELS catalogue: ST1020 and ST1030 MU canopy tables, SB1050 to SB1070 benches, Stag Table listed at USD 3,300, Made in USA claim, USB, wireless, 120 V AC and ADA compliant options, and the absence of published array or battery figures.
Verified
- [3]
Northport Canopy Charging Bench · Sun Charge Systems
Canopy charging bench at roughly 60 W with two 14 Ah batteries.
Verified
- [4]
Steora Classic smart bench · Include Ltd
99 W output, lithium-ion pack, 2 x Qi and 4 x USB fast charging, Wi-Fi module, under-seat LED, Solos platform, alu-zinc and galvanised steel to EN 10346 and ISO 2081, and the installed base across cities.
Verified
- [5]
Sorra solar bench and Sorra Half solar strip · Kinley
2790 x 780 x 450 mm, 100 W panel under toughened double glass, 36 Ah gel or 40 Ah LiFePO4, 4.8 W LED, 2 x USB-A and 1 x USB-C, FSC Iroko, ISO 9001:2015, -20 C to +60 C.
Verified
- [6]
Solar smart benches and street lighting · EnGoPlanet
Solar smart bench range with charging, lighting and sensing options.
Verified
- [7]
Woody Scorpio solar bench · Environmental Street Furniture
Timber-clad solar USB bench and the recycled plastic furniture line.
Verified
- [8]
Veeva seating range and solar options · Furnitubes International
Solar option added to a standard specification seating range.
Verified
- [9]
- [10]
Patent GB2542927: solar canopy table arrangement · Intellectual Property Office (UK)
The granted UK patent cited by The Solar Range, and the freedom-to-operate action it creates for us.
Verified
- [11]
Canopei specification register and variant list prices · Canopei
Our own row in the matrix: 405 to 1,215 W arrays, 2.4 kWh storage with a 5.1 kWh option, 3.2 m2 canopy, and GBP 2,450 to 4,600 list prices.
Verified
- [12]
Array and storage multiples against seat-first benches · Canopei
Our four to twelve times array multiple and five to ten times storage multiple, computed from the published competitor figures in this table against our own specified figures.
Estimated