123Fab #5

1 topic, 2 key figures, 3 startups to draw inspiration from

Additive manufacturing (AM) is an alternative approach to industrial manufacturing, which consists of adding layers of materials in precise shapes until the expected product is obtained. Additive manufacturing, often referred to as 3D printing, uses digital technologies to bring agility and efficiency to the manufacturing industry. It requires the combination of a Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software, printing hardware and materials (metals, thermoplastics, ceramics or biochemicals). Use cases today are mainly focused on small batch and high quality units (aerospace, military) and components with complex geometry (automotive, health). While additive manufacturing reached the top of its Hype Curve in 2013, it has seen renewed interest in the light of Covid-19: the general questioning of the supply chain’s dependence on Asian countries is giving new impetus to the idea of shortening supply chains and producing closer to the consumer market. The order established by Western companies — produce in the East, sell in the West — is being questioned.

Based on our current understanding of today’s challenges and opportunities, we wanted to share 3 main beliefs about AM:

• AM must be a lever for a more sustainable economy. AM has a direct impact on the raw materials manufacturing chain: extraction > manufacturing > distribution. By assessing the overall impact of AM on a product’s energy footprint, studies (US DoE, Digital Alloys) show that additive manufacturing greatly reduces the overall energy consumption required to produce a part, in addition to the savings made by reducing the international transportation of goods. It is interesting to note that the energy required to melt and bond materials — despite the wide disparity in energy required between metals such as titanium and polymers — is greater in additive manufacturing than in traditional manufacturing to process a unit. AM requires materials to be in powder or wire form to be processed (thus requiring more pre-treatment than billets used in conventional manufacturing) and processes such as Laser Powder Bed Fusion require nearly 4 times more energy than traditional Command & Control (CNC) machining to produce the same result. However, a 3D printed part represents only about 1/4 of the total energy required by conventional manufacturing. The overall difference comes from the fact that CNC machining traditionally begins with billets. The aerospace buy-to-fly ratio (the ratio of material purchased to material used in the part being manufactured) ranges from 6:1 to 33:1, which means that up to 97% of the raw material is wasted. By adding only the material needed for the part, AM allows massive cuts here. Moving now from this product-centric vision to an international vision implies a massive shift in energy demand from manufacturing countries to Western countries. With the traditional supply chain, the energy used for manufacturing is managed by the country of manufacture (in short: Southeast Asia). With AM, it is now up to Western countries to provide the energy needed for printing and processing. Therefore, if the total energy footprint of the product decreases, this leads to a substantial increase in energy demand from Western countries.
• Mass customisation using AM is difficult. Although there is a technical justification for allowing AM to mass produce unique parts, it raises a series of questions about unit quality assurance, standardization of lifetimes and warranties, and security. Currently, producing the same quantity of a given mass product in its equivalent of custom units raises uncertainties about production time. While printing itself is becoming increasingly efficient, it still requires post-processing, which can be time-consuming and may require a traditional production line — not really suited to a highly decentralized production organization as advocates of AM often fantasize.
• Finally, AM requires a dense community to achieve maximum efficiency. A network of 3D model suppliers, decentralized production units, material suppliers, distribution and logistics providers, and circular economy/recycling experts. Today, this network is not yet fully empowered because the infrastructure — both physical and digital — is in the middle of its development.

In conclusion, the additives industry can address issues of sustainability, society and geostrategy, but if change is made, countries need to prepare the underlying infrastructure necessary to enable optimal efficiency.

2 Key Figures

220 additive manufacturing startups

listed worldwide (created after 2005)

Market size expected to reach $22bn by 2022

According to Formlabs, the 3D printing market, with sales of $6bn in 2017, is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 30.2% to reach a total market size of $22bn by 2022.

3 startups to draw inspiration from

This week, we identified three startups that we can draw inspiration from: Essentium, AMFG and Xometry.

Esentium

Essentium is a US-based startup providing printers and materials for Aerospace, Automotive, consumer goods and biomedical industries. The company works with the High Speed Extrusion process.

AMFG

AMFG is a UK company offering an end-to-end software that automates human tasks needed in the AM process, thus enabling faster and larger volume manufacturing, at a lesser cost..

Xometry

Xometry is a US company that has raised $118M to become the one-stop shop for all AM-related services. Among others, it provides a vast production-as-a-service platform connecting decentralized manufacturers with companies in need of production capacity.

123Fab #4

1 topic, 2 key figures, 3 startups to draw inspiration from

Earlier this week we mentioned the situation of warehouse workers. While we presented a few companies specialized in autonomous robots, the market for connected workers is also booming. 

Connected workers are better connected to their work environments thanks to the digital technologies they benefit from, which enable better communication, quantification and remote support. These technologies are usually a combination of hardware, software and AI. The adoption of the latter is facilitated by the increasing demand for productivity and employee safety and well-being.

Smart wearables for Industry 4.0 are therefore spreading in factories and warehouses to support workers in all their tasks. Smart headsets (headgear and goggles), mobile devices (watches, tablets) or protective gear (textiles, hearing gear) are among the most common wearables.

2 Key Figures

600 work accidents per minute in the world

(International Labor Organization)

Market size expected to reach $9.9bn by 2026

According to Polaris, the connected worker market will be worth $9.9bn by 2026.

3 startups to draw inspiration from

This week, we identified three startups that we can draw inspiration from: Fieldbit,  Parsable and Canaria.

Fieldbit

The Israeli company is specialized in connected headsets with Augmented Reality, providing employees with extensive field information.

Parsable

The US company has raised $73M to digitize industrial processes that were previously paper-based. It covers use cases such as inspection, issue management, precision work execution or training.

Canaria

The company originally won a NASA contest before applying its cognitive fatigue tracking device to industrial workers. It monitors workers’ fatigue and predicts medical events before they happen.

123Fab #3

1 topic, 2 key figures, 3 startups to draw inspiration from

Urban logistics has become an issue of significant importance over the last decade, driven by the on-demand economy, urban population growth and the growing share of e-commerce.

Companies, especially those specialising in last mile delivery, have recently come under fire. While finding the right balance between maintaining optimal service during the Covid-19 crisis and protecting their workers and contractors is far from easy, people were quick to denounce practices deemed unfair and dangerous (Amazon not offering paid sick leave, Instacart not providing protective and cleaning suppliers…)

The last mile delivery market is undergoing a major shift, with innovative solutions transforming the way goods and parcels are delivered. Whether it involves drones or ground-based robots, autonomous delivery raises a series of questions that go beyond technology and price: how ready are cities to accept autonomous robots? What does this imply in terms of infrastructure? How can we ensure the safe movement of goods and people, and who is responsible? What would be the effect on employment?

2 Key Figures

35 autonomous last mile delivery startups

listed worldwide (founded after 2005)

Out of 137 last mile delivery startups, 26 of the 35 autonomous last mile ones are specialized in drones (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles).

Market size expected to reach $75.6bn by 2030

According to Allied Market Research, the autonomous last mile delivery market is poised to grow up to a $75.6bn business by 2030.

3 startups to draw inspiration from

This week, we identified three startups that we can draw inspiration from: Matternet, Starship, Flytrex.

Matternet

This US company sells an integrated solution (drone, software and docking platform) to deliver packages up to 2kg within a 20km radius. The company is authorized to fly over Swiss cities and focuses on health deliveries.

Starship

Designs autonomous robots able to navigate by themselves in city centers and deliver packages within a 6km radius. The company has raised $80 M.

Flytrex

This israeli company is specialized in autonomous drones for Food and small retail deliveries. The company also operates in Iceland and in a private estate in North Dakota.

123Fab #2

1 topic, 2 key figures, 3 startups to draw inspiration from

Country lockdowns should be seen as an opportunity to rethink industrial autonomy, especially in such fundamental sectors as agriculture. If feeding a world population that is expected to reach 9 billion people by 2050 is already a huge challenge — according to the FAO we need to increase our growing capacity by 70 percent — it is an even greater challenge in these times of closed borders.

Over the past 15 years, we have witnessed the development of new methods to grow food in unlikely places, without soil or sunlight: hydroponics (plants submerged in liquid solutions containing macro-nutrients), aquaponics (a combination of aquaculture and hydroponics) and aeroponics (plants are grown in an air or mist environment). These urban and vertical farms are not owned by farmers but often by VC-backed tech entrepreneurs who have decided to take advantage of the maturity of crucial technologies such as: LED lighting, computer vision for crop analysis and disease identification and automation & robotics.

As local agriculture has become an integral part of urban life, vertical and urban farms have shown unparalleled performance in terms of water savings (up to 95% less than traditional agriculture) and yield per square meter. However, the substantial initial costs, energy consumption and price per square meter maintain a veil of uncertainty about its sustainability. Japan was the first country to vastly adopt this technology in 2010, yet 60% of its 200 vertical farms are still operating at a loss.

But don’t be mistaken. Vertical and urban farming isn’t here to replace traditional farms — but to complement traditional agriculture by creating artifical arable land. In a context of diminshing returns and soil depletion, vertical and urban farming can relieve some of the stress of conventional farming by growing the most basic crops off the ground.

2 Key Figures

200 vertical and urban farming startups

listed worldwide (founded after 2004)

Today, most of the AgTech startups are building their own technology to increase the optimal use of vertical space, balance the use of energy and ease the monitoring and harvesting of crops.

Market size expected to reach $5.8bn by 2022

Markets & Markets estimates the industry to be worth $5.8 billion by 2022, with a 24.8% CAGR from 2019 onwards. Yet, the dynamic market represents a small share of the farming industry: $3bn vs $104bn for the US market in 2024.

3 startups to draw inspiration from

This week, we identified three startups that we can draw inspiration from: AeroFarms, Agrilution and Illumitex.

AeroFarms

The 15-year old US startup is one of the pioneers in indoor farming. To date, AeroFarms has raised $240M in capital and runs a 2,800 square meter farm in New Jersey.

Agrilution

The German startup was among the first to focus on high-end B2C vertical farming. The startup was recently acquired by Miele (leading manufacturer of premium domestic appliances).

Illumitex

The US startup used to specialize in LED lights for indoor and vertical farming. Recently, Illumitex shifted its focus to provide visualization and AI for controlled environment agriculture.

123Fab #1

1 topic, 2 key figures, 3 startups to draw inspiration from

Country lockdowns and the wave of disinfection should not only be seen as a factor of economic slowdown but as an opportunity to adopt new habits. 

The shift from ownership to access is a widely spread societal change that we strongly believe in — especially in the area of transportation. This new paradigm has fuelled the growth and success of many companies namely in the sharing economy and has become popular across all kinds of assets: houses (Airbnb), boats (Click & Boat), construction machinery (Tracktor) and much more. 

The Covid-19 pandemic calls into question the health and safety standards that prevail today for these usages:

• While you can trust someone to take care of your car for a few days and not crash it into a wall, can you trust them to wash their hands before getting behind the wheel? Or to sneeze into their elbow? 
• How reluctant would you be to rent a car on GetAround or Virtuo if you were clearly shown the concentration of bacteria on the steering wheel and gear stick?

At the end of the day, it’s not much different from taking the subway or the train, although our hygiene standards are much lower.

2 Key Figures

50 diinfection startups

listed worlwide (founded after 2010)

Today, the vast (bio)decontamination market is mainly focused on the health care and food industry verticals but it is beginning to spread to other ones, including the transportation sector.

Market size expected to reach $175 million by 2024

Markets & Markets estimates the industry to be worth $175 million by 2024, with a 6.1% CAGR from 2019. The relatively dynamic market is namely driven by technological advancements on the active ingredients (bio or not) and spraying technics. 

3 startups to draw inspiration from

This week, we identified three startups that we can draw inspiration from: Devea, Lidit, and Kinnos.

Devea

Sells an airborne surface disinfection system which uses centrifugation to produce an extremely fine fog (microdroplets technology).

Lidit

Sells an airborne surface disinfection system which uses a cold biocide nebulization technology.

Kinnos

Sells a color additive for disinfectants designed to ensure full coverage and to minimize over-coverage and missed sprayed targets.