immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Energieinnovation

  • Start-up is driving the electrification of industrial processes

    Start-up is driving the electrification of industrial processes

    SolidWatts has announced the completion of a seed funding round. The Vaud-based start-up, founded in late 2022, has raised 1.8 million Swiss francs. According to a press release, existing investors Evercurios VC (Athens), Kickfund (Basel) and Axel Carbon Capital (Milan) have continued their support. New investors include Uni.Fund and Investing for Purpose, both based in Athens, Loggerhead Ventures from Thessaloniki, and the British investor Almanac Ventures.

    In developing his solid-state high-frequency platform, SolidWatts CTO and founder Dr Markus Aicheler, then a postdoctoral researcher at CERN, drew inspiration from the Geneva-based nuclear research centre’s pioneering work in high-frequency (HF) solid-state technology. Whilst CERN uses this technology for scientific applications, the scientist recognised its potential to replace fossil fuels in industry. HF enables high-power dielectric heating “with an efficiency and scale that make it suitable for direct use in conventional fossil fuel-based processes for the first time”, according to the start-up, which is supported by the Swiss Climate Foundation, in the press release.

    “This investment is a huge endorsement of our mission to fundamentally transform the industry’s energy consumption,” Aicheler is quoted as saying. “It enables us to bring HF technology up to the power and efficiency levels that the industry actually needs.” The seed funding will be used to scale up the SolidWatts platform to higher power levels and to carry out pilot projects with industry partners and customers who are actively seeking to reduce their energy consumption and costs through the electrification of heating processes.

    “SolidWatts is shaping the future of industrial resilience,” says George Georgiadis, partner at Evercurious VC and representative of the investor group. “Its technology boosts efficiency and offers a clear path away from dependence on fossil fuels.” The group is backing “an innovator founded in Europe and equipped for the world”.

  • DACH region creates platform for energy innovation in Europe

    DACH region creates platform for energy innovation in Europe

    Universities, start-up ecosystems and energy companies from Germany, Austria and Switzerland have set up a European platform for energy innovation. One top university and one energy company from each country will be represented at the Energy Launchpad, the UnternehmerTUM start-up centre from Garching near Munich, which is part of the platform, announced in a press release.

    Switzerland is represented by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and Energie 360° from Zurich. The Vienna University of Technology and VERBUND AG are from Austria, while the Technical University of Munich and EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG are from Germany.

    The platform, which is designed as an open network, aims to promote European technologies and start-ups. Next year, the focus will be on artificial intelligence and quantum computing. “With the Energy Launchpad, we are creating space for implementation strength in Europe,” Helmut Schönenberger, founder and CEO of UnternehmerTUM, is quoted as saying in the press release. “Research, industry and start-ups are bringing technologies into application more quickly here – openly, across borders and with a clear focus on impact.” This creates “resilience in the energy system and technological sovereignty for Europe”, says Schönenberger.

    The project was launched on 24 October at a kick-off event in Vienna. From here, the Energy Launchpad will now be travelling through the DACH region. The next stop will be at the Energy Week @ ETH in Zurich on 11 November.