123Fab #24

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

Over the years, the French government has boosted the financial incentives offered to the biomethane industry to reduce the costs associated with the production and operation of units. Whereas the exemption from the domestic consumption tax on natural gas (TICGN) previously applied to biomethane, the French government has just announced that it will no longer apply from January 2021. France Biométhane, a green gas think-tank, deplores this decision which, according to them, discredits biomethane and favors fossil fuels.

Biomethane, defined as a renewable natural gas with properties close to those of natural gas, may well play a major role in building a sustainable energy future according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Indeed, there is no need to change the transmission and distribution infrastructures or end-user equipment. Consequently, it can be injected into the natural gas distribution network very easily or used as fuel for vehicles (bio-CNG, bio-LNG). It is also comparable to renewable energy since it emits 10 times less carbon than natural gas, can be stored and offers a solution to the intermittent use of solar and wind energy. Finally, it reduces the pressure on landfills and fits into the circular economy. Therefore, there are reasons to believe that biomethane could become more firmly established in the future. How about its economic viability and technical feasibility?

To date biomethane can be produced in 3 ways:

• The biogas road – which uses wet biowaste. It uses the means of anaerobic digestion to convert the biowaste into biogas. The biogas is then purified to remove the CO2 and other contaminants to produce biomethane.
• The syngas road – which uses dry or semi-dry biowaste. It uses the means of pyro-gasification to convert the biowaste into syngas. The syngas is then cleaned and methanised to convert the hydrogen, carbon monoxide and dioxide into methane.
• The hydrogen road – which uses electricity. It uses the means of electrolysis (or power-to-gas) to convert electricity into hydrogen. The hydrogen is then cleaned and methanised to convert it into methane.

In short, there are three main methods for producing biomethane: anaerobic digestion, pyro-gasification and electrolysis. To date, approximately 90% of the biomethane produced comes from anaerobic digestion and the upgrading of biogas. Among the purifying and upgrading technologies, we can find water scrubbing, adsorption, cryogenic separation, membrane technology, etc.

Waga Energy, a landfill gas-to-energy technology firm, is one of the large players in this segment. In 2018 they notably joined forces with environmental services giant Veolia. Since then, Veolia has been using Waga Energy’s Wagabox® technology to produce biomethane using biogas, which is injected directly into the natural gas grid operated by GRDF. In early October, the two players signed a contract to install a purification unit at the waste storage center in Claye-Souilly. This facility, which should be commissioned by February 2022, will produce biomethane from waste and supply 20,000 households in the Paris region with renewable gas.

Last year, France set an objective of injecting 10% of biomethane (21 TWH) into the country’s gas network by 2030, like Denmark is already doing. Numerous biomethane injection sites have seen the light of the day. To date, 133 biomethane injection sites are producing 2.3 TWH per year. With an average annual growth rate of more than 60% over the last 3-4 years, the French goal seems feasible.

However, production costs remain high when taking into account the cost of input supply, the cost of transformation (into biogas/syngas and then into biomethane), and the cost of injection (connection to the energy grid). The price to produce biomethane reaches €95 compared to €20 for natural gas. This is why the development of biomethane will ultimately depend on the policy framework and if the market conditions remain attractive for the project leaders (green gas feed-in tariffs, stability, or reduction of construction and gas connection costs).

Overall, the optimal uses of biomethane are in the end-sectors where there are fewer low-carbon alternatives (high-temperature heating, petrochemical feedstocks, heavy-duty transport, shipping, etc.). There are also other motivations such as rural development (household digesters), energy security (complementing wind and solar PV or substituting imported natural gas) and urban air quality.

2 Key Figures

330 Biomethane startups

registered by Crunchbase

Market size expected to reach $3.4bn by 2027

The global biomethane market accounted for $1.8 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach $3.4 billion by 2027 growing at a CAGR of 8.3% during the forecast period.

3 startups to draw inspiration from

This week, we identified three startups that we can draw inspiration from: CPD-Swiss, Nexus Fuels, and Pyrowave.

Waga Energy

Waga Energy develops, designs, invests and operates WAGABOX® units that recover biogas from landfill sites to transform it into biomethane. Waga Energy uses two upgrading processes: membrane filtration and cryogenic distillation.

Enosis

Enosis develops a biomethanation reactor that converts biogas, syngas and CO2 into methane and provides flexibility services to the electrical grid.

Electrochaea

Electrochaea’s proprietary power-to-gas (P2G) process converts renewable energy and carbon dioxide into grid-quality renewable methane for storage and distribution.

EIT Health and Biogen are joining forces to launch ‘neurotechprize’ to advance promising technology solutions addressing Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) from around the globe.

Through the neurotechprize, they aim to accelerate the most promising solutions and technologies addressing the challenge of AD in Germany.

Aster Fab is thrilled to have supported Biogen and the neurotechlab in the design and organization of the prize. 

**

4 AREAS OF FOCUS

EIT Health and Biogen have identified four areas of focus that could make a difference in the life of people diagnosed with AD:

1. Accelerating the diagnostic pathway

2. Improving disease monitoring

3. Easing burden on patients

4. Maintaining quality of life

**

THE PROGRAM

The program is aimed at health entrepreneurs in the neurotech space seeking support in the validation of their ideas and developing business goals in a supportive and enriching environment.

The program offers participants:

• A tailored three-month journey focused on your team’s objectives, established individually at the beginning of the program
• Intensive mentoring from top experts in business and science
• Access to industry stakeholders
• 10,000€ funding to support participation of founders and/or key team members in the journey

**

ADMISSION PROCESS

Shortlisted teams will be invited for an online interview directly by EIT Health staff and Biogen experts. The interviews will take place between 20-26 January 2022. Shortlisted teams will be able to book the time for the interview via link provided in the invitation.

The application score and the result of the online interview will be combined to draw up a list of teams selected to pitch live in front of the Jury.

Up to 15 shortlisted teams (Semi-Finalists) will be invited to pitch their solution in front of the Jury on February 1st, 2022 to secure their spot in the program. The Jury will select up-to 10 teams (Finalists) who will be invited to enter the program (Finalists).

**

THE PRIZE

The Jury will be able to award up-to two prizes:

• 1st Prize of 100,000€ for the winning solution
• 2nd Prize of 50,000€ for the runner-up

123Fab #39

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

Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things have transformed the way we view industrial machinery. Whether it’s construction equipment, farm equipment, metalworking machinery, woodworking machinery, forklifts, it’s no longer just about mechanical equipment. Most industrial machines are equipped with a large number of sensors, cameras and are connected to the company’s network. From predictive maintenance to avoid breakdowns to defect detection, connected machinery is significantly improving competitiveness and efficiency. It is also helping to address Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) issues by increasing operator safety and facilitating their work, as well as energy use efficiency. However, there are two points to note: on the one hand, these machines are on average more expensive than conventional equipment, and on the other hand, with the evolution of technologies, they become obsolete at a higher pace.

To avoid paying the high price of these machines, industrials and corporates have found new ways to access these technologies. One of which is retrofitting. The principle of retrofitting is simple but efficient: any industrial corporate with legacy machines can send them to a retrofitting company, which will retrofit sensors and connectivity panels to make them smart. This avoids paying for a whole new machine that workers do not master and grants access to the latest technology. Some startups, like Teleo, retrofit existing construction equipment into teleoperated robots. Last month, the startup was selected by construction equipment manufacturer Deere & Co. to join its Startup Collaborator program. Other startups, like Kontrol energy corp, aim to reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions in industries by retrofitting energy consumption monitors.

In recent years, another way to reduce the cost of purchasing connected industrial machinery has made inroads: second-hand machinery marketplaces. These platforms were traditionally a B2C tool, but the growing need for cost-effective solutions for industrial machines has led to an expansion of these platforms to a B2B model. Some of them are generalists like Vendaxo, which lists machines ranging from food processing to construction and heavy equipment. Others, like Moov or Makinate, target more specialized segments (semiconductor and metal/plastic industries respectively). Each has its own business model, some focusing on platform assistance, and others offering a wide range of services coupled with their platform: financing, preparation, loading, transportation, and installation like Gindumac.

Another tool to enhance the lifespan of industrial machinery is rebuilding. The machine is completely dismounted, then remounted, and end-of-life parts are replaced. This is often a service offered by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) and specialized companies, as workers must have extensive knowledge of each model.

Although the second-hand market is expected to be worth more than $142 billion by 2026 for construction machinery alone, according to Global Market Insights, there are relatively few startups positioned in the second-hand machinery marketplace segment. In fact, fewer than 10 startups are registered on Crunchbase. This is because the logistics of transporting and storing these machines, as well as the financing involved, are difficult for newcomers to tackle, especially when it comes to international transactions and shipments. That is what leads us to believe, for now, why most startups positioned in the marketplace segment are working primarily on facilitating other aspects of these transactions, such as machine quality checks, escrow payment, or counseling.

One of the big obstacles standing in the way of these platforms is transportation: connecting buyers and sellers from all over the world is one thing, but transporting multi-ton machines from one to the other is another. One thing is sure, there is room for innovative solutions for the disposal of used machinery, whether it’s retrofitting, marketplaces or recycling (like French trains from SNCF). The trend seems to be toward more eco-responsible and reusable machinery.

2 Key Figures

<10 used/second-hand industrial machinery marketplace startups

registered by Crunchbase

Market size expected to reach $142Bn by 2026

The size of the used construction equipment market alone is expected to reach $142Bn by 2026.

3 startups to draw inspiration from

This week, we identified three startups that we can draw inspiration from: Equippo, Moov, and Gindumac.

Equippo

Equippo is a startup founded in 2014 in Switzerland operating an online marketplace intended to simplify buying and selling of used construction equipment. The platform performs machine inspection, manages the payment, shipping, trucking, and clearance of heavy equipment for buyers from all over the world, including markets like South America, Russia, and Poland.

Moov

Moov is a San Francisco based startup providing online marketplace designed to sell used manufacturing equipment.The platform matches buyers and sellers of pre-owned semiconductor manufacturing equipment and automates documentation, information sharing and the transaction process.

Gindumac

Gindumac is a German startup operating an online platform for used machinery trading intended for sellers and buyers of industrial machinery. The company buys and sells used machines including machine tools, sheet metal, plastics processing, automation and injection molding machines from various international manufacturers in the metal, sheet metal and plastics processing industries.

123Fab #36

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

On the one hand, heating and cooling applications are among the largest energy consumers (about half of the total energy consumption). On the other hand, some of the renewable electricity produced is lost due to non-immediate use, and this will continue to accelerate as renewable energy facilities are being developed faster than batteries and storage solutions. The reconciliation of these two issues, converting electrical energy into heat (or cold), is called Power-to-Heat (PtH). Thermal energy is produced by heat pump technologies or electric boilers. In the context of growing environmental awareness, industrials are increasingly looking for technologies that will enable them to shift from fossil-based industrial heating to electrically-based, power-to-heat processes. These industrial heating applications account for almost 20% of global energy consumption.

These renewable power-to-heat technologies help industries to reduce their CO2 emissions and offer higher flexibility in the power system when equipped with smart load management. Industrial application technologies are already mature and commercially available. However, they have yet to be integrated into hybrid heating systems (e.g. with natural gas).

How does it work? The first step is the delivery of electricity from renewable sources to power stations (which may be large centralized heating production stations or decentralized entities). Infrastructures can be equipped with thermal storage systems, such as those of Form Energy, to enable consumers to use the stored heat and thus reduce the demand on the power grid during peak electricity demand periods. Afterwards, there are two technologies to convert electric power into heat: electric boilers and heat pumps. Electric boilers use electricity to heat water, which is then circulated through pipes to provide space heating or stored in hot water tanks for later use. Heat pumps, on the other hand, transfer heat from the surrounding heat sources to buildings and infrastructures. They can fulfill both heating and cooling requirements — typically using between 66% and 80% of the energy contained in the ambient air, water, or ground, and between 20% and 33% electricity to drive the process.

Where is it used?  These technologies are applied in different industries, for several uses. The first example is the food & beverage industry, where heat plants are used in Japan for brewing sake and beer. The Suntory production plants, for instance, use a cogeneration system (combined heat and power) that recovers the heat generated from in-house generation and uses it as a heat source for brewing beer and extracting coffee and tea, increasing energy efficiency to 70-80% and reducing CO2 emissions by 20-30%. Another example is the container washing plant in Spain that uses solar thermal heat. 22% of their hot water (80°C) demand is covered by a solar thermal system based on flat plate collectors, and the remainder is covered by a conventional boiler using natural gas. District heating is also a common application of power-to-heat. In Hamburg, Vattenfall operates an electric boiler that uses excess wind generation, thus avoiding wind power curtailment, to generate district heat in Berlin. The units use electricity from renewable energy sources to heat water, which transmit heat to residences and commercial buildings.

More generally, power-to-heat innovations contribute to the transformation of the power sector in 5 ways:

• Reduction of renewable energy curtailment: the excess of energy is used to address heating needs.
• Increased flexibility through load-shifting: heat pumps can offer demand-side flexibility by switching their electricity consumption from high-demand time intervals to low-demand time intervals to convert electric power into stored heat or cold.
• Large-scale energy storage: the surplus heat (resp. cold) produced with renewable energy in summer (resp. winter) can be stored in thermal reservoirs (mainly aquifers), which then can be used to meet the winter (resp. summer) heating demand, thereby reducing the need for non-renewable heat sources during peak times. The most common solution is the use of Phase-Change Materials (PCM), which are efficient against energy loss and leakage and are substances that release or absorb enough energy to maintain a regulated temperature. A great example of such a process is the Canadian project Drake Landing, which uses solar thermal energy and seasonal underground thermal energy storage for a district heating scheme. It supplies a residential community of 52 households that have seen their greenhouse gas emissions cut down by more than 5.5 times per year.
• Grid services provided by aggregators: new “smart” storage heating solutions are designed to take advantage of variations in electricity prices throughout the day and can be remotely controlled by aggregators to both optimize heating costs for consumers and provide grid balancing services to the national grid.
• Increased self-consumption through renewable local generation: consumers with solar rooftop systems can use the locally generated electricity to power heat pumps.

Ultimately, having understood how power-to-heat systems work and what their benefits are, it can be useful to bear in mind the drivers behind their adoption and the regulations that are put in place. Incentives to decarbonize the heating sector are leading to the deployment of heat pumps at a steady pace. On average, the operating costs of using electricity to generate heat are comparable to those of using fossil fuel-based sources. High-performance heat pumps can generate more than 4–5 kWh of useful heat for every 1 kWh of electricity consumed. Furthermore, regulations are being implemented in pioneer countries, like in Germany, where the Renewable Energy Heating Act bans the use of oil burners to heat new buildings and requires all new buildings to use energy generated from renewable energy sources for space and water heating. Similarly, in 2017, Norway’s Ministry of Climate and Environment passed a law banning the use of oils and paraffin from 2020 in heating applications.

To conclude, now that power-to-heat technologies are mature and up-and-running, more incentives should be brought forwards to increase the use of renewable energy in heating and cooling. Domestic and industrial consumers will need to make upfront investments to shift to renewable energy for heating and cooling applications, and schemes that reduce the economic burden on consumers will encourage faster adoption of renewable energy in heating and cooling. However, these schemes need to be tailored to the needs of different consumer segments, types of buildings (residential vs. industrial), and types of heating system (centralized vs. decentralized), as well as to other external factors, such as the climate zone.

2 Key Figures

177 power-to-heat startups

registered by PitchBook, including 100 “thermal energy storage” startups

Market size expected to reach $369M by 2025

The market size of thermal energy storage is expected to reach $369M by 2025, at a CAGR of over 14.4% from 2020.

3 startups to draw inspiration from

This week, we identified three startups that we can draw inspiration from: Malta Inc, Enerstorage, and Heaten

Malta Inc

The US-based startup Malta Inc builds an electro-thermal energy storage system that converts electricity to thermal energy for storage. It later converts the thermal energy back into electrical energy whenever required

Enerstorage

The German startup Enerstorage sells power-to-heat plants for industries that require a lot of heat. The PtH systems provide an important link between the heat supply and the power grid, regulate the power grids, and thus lead to a successful energy transition.

Heaten

Heaten is an industrial startup that provides heat-to-power and power-to-heat machines. Their very high-temperature heat pumps are based on an innovative piston machine technology, which provides an output temperature up to 165°C, which covers 30% of the energy demand of all industrial heating processes.

123Fab #35

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

In February, Estonian start-up Hepta Airborne raised €2 million to take its drone powerline inspection solution to the next level. Using LiDAR, thermal sensors and cameras, Hepta Airborne helps automatically detect powerline and power infrastructure defects. This fundraising embodies the current surge in the use of drones for difficult tasks in the industry. Indeed, the overall commercial drone market is projected to reach $43 billion by 2024, up from $587 million in 2016. The volume of VC investments has increased by 21% over the past 4 years, reaching $185 million in 2020. In the coming years, the market is expected to become more concentrated, with the leaders winning out over weaker players, as did the fast-growing start-up Airobotics, which raised a total of $123M in funding over 5 years.

Drones are used in a variety of industries, but above all in 4D situations: dirt, dull, distant, and dangerous. The main industries that use them are the energy sector (both oil & gas and renewables), precision agriculture, construction, and mining. Although regulations are often a hindrance, there are gradually being adapted to each industry and use case, in order to enable the effective use of drones.

The energy sector can greatly benefit from drone inspections, which not only help to reduce costs, but also to prevent disasters and save lives. Indeed, they allow distant and dangerous inspections to be carried out, eliminating the need for climbing wind turbines or reaching offshore oil platforms. Although standards for drone operations are yet under development, they could help expand the use of unmanned aircraft services in the energy industry and boost innovation. The main challenge, however, lies in flights beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) – to carry out pipeline and powerline inspections over long distances, for instance – as the detect-and-avoid technology is not sufficiently advanced. Improvements in advanced EO/IR [electro optical/infrared] sensors, acoustic sensors, machine learning, ground-based radar, and other technologies could change the game. Avitas Sytems, a General Electric venture, has developed a digital platform and drone inspection capabilities for pipelines, for instance. Wind turbine inspection can be monitored by drones, such as those of the start-up Aerialtronics.

Drone activity in agriculture continues to increase, and the aerial imagery generated can provide unique insights by scouting crops, reporting crop damage, or determining tile locations. Drone use is mainly justified by a more accurate collection of crop data and the avoidance of dull stains. Over the past ten years, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has continued to review the requirements for the operation of small unmanned aerial systems to create a reasonable legal pathway for use in agriculture. This involves obtaining a remote pilot certificate, registering the drone with the FAA, but also weighing less than 55 pounds, maintaining a maximum altitude of 400 feet, and remaining within the visual line of sight of the remote pilot or visual observer in command. Although these regulations seem restrictive, they enable farmers to use them as part of their needs. The Swiss start-up Gamaya uses HSI (Hyperspectral Imaging) technology deployed using small unmanned aircraft systems for remote sensing and high-resolution imagery. It can be used to diagnose crop diseases, the proliferation of invasive species, and environmental stresses.

As for drones in the construction industry, they are mainly used for surveying and inspection purposes. They perform dull, dangerous, distant, and time-consuming tasks. Drones are equipped with downward-facing sensors, such as RGB, multispectral, thermal, or LIDAR, and capture a large amount of aerial data in a short time. According to a PwC study, the use of drones throughout a construction project provides an unparalleled record of all activities; cuts planning and survey costs; increases efficiency and accuracy and eliminates disputes over the status of a project at a given point in time. Drafted regulations in the construction industry frame the use of drones, without preventing it. Drones can only fly during daylight, must be close enough to the operators to be seen by the naked eye, and cannot exceed a certain altitude and speed. The Swiss start-up Wingtra, which has raised a total of $19M, provides mapping drones for construction sites.

Finally, drones in the mining industry help solve challenges such as better blast optimization, improved safety, faster surveying, and the construction of the most comprehensive and continuous project datasets. On mining sites, drones are used to cover distant areas where foot traffic is not allowed. Their aerial photography and remote sensing allow mining companies to capture all that information without putting someone at risk.

All these examples highlight the significant potential of drones in the industry. Apart from regulation issues, the main factors limiting the massive adoption of drones are technical issues (battery autonomy, drone fleet management, data transfer, etc.) and practical issues (lack of certified pilots, hence the creation of marketplaces for drone rides).

To conclude, the potential of the drone market is high and has not yet reached maturity, and private investors are betting on it. Harmonization of regulations is underway – for recreational drones, the EU announced a continent-wide standardization on January 1st; and technology innovations (battery life, collision avoidance, autopilot, data processing, control & communication systems) should follow to enable democratized use in the industry.

2 Key Figures

1,009 drone startups

registered by Tracxn

Market size expected to reach $43bn by 2024

The market size of commercial drones is expected to reach $43bn by 2024, a CAGR of over 20% from 2018

3 startups to draw inspiration from

This week, we identified three startups that we can draw inspiration from: Percepto, Asylon, and SkySpecs.

Percepto

Percepto is a developer of autonomous drone technology for inspection and surveillance. The company has developed solution to holistically inspect and monitor industrial sites, harnessing remote robotics to autonomously collect, aggregate, and analyze visual data. Percepto operates in mining, oil & gas, industrial sites, and solar energy production sites.

Asylon

Asylon manufactures and distributes a range of field deployable infrastructure to its clients. Among others, the company manufactures DroneHome, a field-deployable battery swap station. It offers data linking, coverage, mesh networking, and mixed fleet support. Asylon has chosen a robot-as-a-service model, where they provide an end-to-end solution for an annual subscription.

SkySpecs

SkySpecs is a provider of autonomous drone inspections for onshore and offshore wind turbines. The safety software services include the development of an automated drone inspection feature for applications in wind turbines, utility and other infrastructure operations and maintenance activities and provides an analytics platform that supports workflows at every level of the value chain.

123Fab #34

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

Breakthroughs in the field of autonomous vehicles, including for freight, have leaped forward in recent years. In October 2020, Swedish startup Einride unveiled a new driverless vehicle for autonomous freight, which the company hopes to see on the road this year. Last year, Plus.AI completed its first coast-to-coast commercial journey across the US with an autonomous truck, using simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) technologies. Indeed, a combination of factors has been fueling this development, including the increasing road freight (with 11,000 bn ton-km today, it is expected to double over the next 20 years) and the shortage of drivers (a lack of 175,000 drivers by 2024, according to the American Trucking Association).

In this respect, the European Commission launched in December 2020 a 29-partner consortium – All-Weather Autonomous Real Logistics Operations and Demonstrations (AWARD) – to shake up transport for the freight industry, and in particular, “operations in difficult weather conditions”. Led by EasyMile, this 3-year, €20 million project brings together truck manufacturers, equipment manufacturers, end-users and logistics operators.

While institutions are beginning to support autonomous freight, innovation and new technologies are the playground for startups and established automotive players. Innovations can be split into four main areas: sensors such as cameras or lidars (which provide data to a trained computer), computing hardware (responsible for autonomous driving calculations and decision making), storage infrastructure (to store data, on the edge and in the cloud, for future analysis and algorithm improvement) and autonomy software (which ultimately takes all the decision). If the range of technologies is similar to that of autonomous cars, long-distance trucks are better suited to test automated driving because of their extensive use of highways – where unexpected situations are less likely to occur than on urban roads – and the repetitiveness of their itineraries.

Startups at the wheel, which work on more or less autonomous trucks, include:

• US start-up TuSimple,  a developer of autonomous driving technologies applied to trucks. It already has partnerships with two OEMs (Navistar and VW’s Traton truck OEM) and plans to reach Level 4 autonomy (trucks able to operate without a human driver under limited conditions that may include the time of day, weather, or pre-mapped routes).
• Otto, which was founded by former Google, Tesla, and Apple employees, is developing software to be installed on existing trucks to make them fully autonomous.
• Embark Trucks has already commercialized fully automated semi-trucks and trucks (used by Amazon for some loads).

Automotive and logistics players are also following the trend:

• Daimler Trucks signed a partnership with Waymo last October to deploy autonomous SAE L4 technology. They will combine Waymo’s cutting-edge automated driver technology with a unique version of Daimler’s Freightliner Cascadia, which will be commercialized in 2025.
• In 2016, a fleet of semi-autonomous Scania trucks (a Swedish manufacturer specializing in heavy vehicles) completed a journey from Sweden to the Netherlands using a technique called platooning, in which one driver pilots the leading vehicle while the rest follow along automatically (such as the one developed by Peleton Technology)
• Walmart announced last December that it would test driverless autonomous delivery trucks with startup Gatik from 2021. The trucks are equipped with sensors and autonomous driving software. To limit the risks, they have decided to start driving on the same and registered routes (mainly between warehouses and supermarkets).

The recent and on-going acceleration in autonomous freight vehicles is due to the many advantages they provide. 45% reduction in exploitation costs (McKinsey), better utilization (they operate 24/7 without driver rest periods), and a higher payload of trucks (as there is no driver cabin anymore). Moreover, it improves drivers’ conditions (avoiding night drives, more rest thanks to driving assistance). Finally, autonomous vehicles contribute to higher road safety (security systems should avoid 90% of crashes caused by human error) and a reduction of carbon footprint thanks to methods like platooning or IoT to optimize fuel consumption.

Nonetheless, several challenges or competitive alternatives remain. The impact on jobs is difficult to assess, due to the higher demand and need for monitoring of self-driving trucks. Autonomous fleets face autonomous trains which have higher productivity. One could see an opportunity for railway companies to integrate automated trucks. They could increase speed and throughput as well as secure a critical role in the overall ecosystem. Finally, as with autonomous cars, regulations need to be harmonized between countries, and the issue of liability is essential for further deployment.

To conclude, the market is growing fast and innovations are multiplying, which will likely lead to a technology transfer to other autonomous devices (cars, machines, robots, etc.). Institutions and key players, as Uber does, still need to work on driverless vehicle and regulation issues.

2 Key Figures

30 self-driving truck technology-provider startups

registered by Tracxn

Market size expected to reach $2.01bn by 2027

The market size of autonomous trucks is expected to reach $2.01bn by 2027, a CAGR of 12.6% from 2019

3 startups to draw inspiration from

This week, we identified three startups that we can draw inspiration from: Plus.ai, Kodiak Robotics, and Boxbot.

Plus.ai

Plus.ai develops self-driving technology for trucks. It offers solutions like the 360-degree perception that uses radars, LiDARs, and cameras for sensing. Their localization & mapping algorithms accurately track the location of trucks and detect and analyze road structures, and predict the behavior of other on-road vehicles.

Kodiak

Kodiak Robotics is a developer of self-driving trucks. It develops autonomous trucks with a full-stack solution with simulation enhanced system to optimize the risk. Their fleet of self-driving trucks ahave been tested in California and are currently operating in Texas.

Boxbot

Boxbot is a developer of automation technology designed to address the last-mile issues in logistics, enabling businesses and individuals to optimize the experiences of suppliers and consumers.

123Fab #33

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

In January 2021, a research team from the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS) developed an electrolytic wastewater process that degrades microplastics at the source, instead of a filtration process. Indeed, microplastics can be very present in wastewater, particularly in industrial waster. Industrial wastewater treatment describes the processes for treating wastewater produced by industries as an undesirable by-product.

Given the current pressure on water resources, water contamination issues and the water needs of industries (22% of global use, and 40% in Europe), industrial wastewater treatment is becoming imperative. All the more so as many industries are concerned by contaminated wastewater, be it agriculture (fertilizers), the construction industry (solvents, paints, grease), the food processing industry (organic particulates, animal waste) or oil & gas sectors (grease, oil waste). Treating industrial wastewater has two main benefits, which are reducing industries’ environmental footprint (by reducing waste and harmful contaminants released into the environment) and contributing to the circular economy (by reusing the wastewater to produce energy or fertilizer), thus turning waste into an additional source of revenue. Thereby the market is becoming more competitive and fragmented. However, the industry remains dominated by large companies, relying on their brand and patented product technology. Among the main players are the French companies Suez – which invests €74 million each year in more R&D programs for wastewater treatment solutions — and Veolia, but also international corporations like Ecolab (US) or Thermax Group (India).

The treatment of industrial wastewater requires special methods and technologies that can be divided into three categories:

• Physical treatment methods used to remove solid waste. The main techniques are sedimentation (suspending the insoluble particles from the water and separating them once they have settled to the bottom), aeration, and filtration.
• Chemical treatment methods involve the use of chemicals in the water. Chlorine and ozone are oxidizing chemicals commonly used to kill bacteria and prevent them from reproducing in the water.
• Biological treatment methods use a variety of processes to break down the organic matter present in wastewater. They include aerobic processes (a bacteria decomposes the organic matter and converts it into CO2 that can be used by plants), anaerobic processes (fermentation of the waste at a specific temperature), and composting (wastewater is treated by mixing it with sawdust or other carbon sources).

These three techniques to treat industrial wastewater are used at different stages of the purification process. During the screening phase, physical processes like sedimentation and filtration are used to remove solid waste from the wastewater. For instance, biofiltration is used to ensure that any additional sediment is removed from the wastewater. This is the core of Veolia’s patented technology, Biostyr. The wastewater is then clarified, using physical or biological methods, to remove suspended and floating matters. The refinery industry, for instance, uses a clarifier with a surface skimmer for oil and a bottom rake for solid – also called API separator. When the difference in density is not sufficient to separate oil-wetted solids, air floatation can be used. The company Akvola sells a solution based on a bubble generator and a flotation-filtration process for cleaning hard-to-treat industrial wastewater. The air bubbles attach to contaminants in the waste, decrease their density, and facilitate their separation. Afterward, wastewater is aerated (introduction of air into the water) to allow aerobic biodegradation of the polluting components. Finally, industrial wastewater is disinfected by chemical or biological processes. When it comes to final sewage sludge, it is treated before being sent back to the environment or reused. Sewage sludge is first thickened, then digested and dewatered. During digestion, the sludge produces CO2 and methane, often collected and used to generate power, as is done by AquaGreen. They provide products that focus on converting wastewater sludge into thermal energy, capable of supporting sludge facilities and district heating.

To conclude, innovation and technologies are being developed to treat increasing amounts of industrial wastewater. The environmental footprint (sewage sludge) and energy consumption (2-3% of global energy for water purification) are challenges that need to be addressed in order to reach maturity.

2 Key Figures

98 Industrial wastewater treatment startups

registered by Tracxn

Market size expected to reach $15bn by 2024

The market size of industrial wastewater treatment is expected to reach $15bn by 2025, a CAGR of 5.8% from 2019.

3 startups to draw inspiration from

This week, we identified three startups that we can draw inspiration from: ProSep, Akvola, and EcoWorth Tech.

Prosep

Prosep offers several solutions to Oil & Gas businesses. They have a variety of tertiary wastewater treatment technologies, aimed at achieving and maintaining low levels of harmful contaminants in the water streams produced by discharges. Their wastewater treatment solution can be retrofitted into the existing treatment line.

Akvola

Akvola sells environmentally-friendly solutions based on the proprietary MicroGas Fine Bubble Generator and akvoFloat – a flotation-filtration process– to clean hard-to-treat industrial wastewater containing high concentrations of oil (free and emulsified) and suspended solids. It can remove up to 99% of oil & grease and suspended solids

EcoWorth Tech

EcoWorth Tech is a Singaporean startup providing waste-to-worth solutions. They are specialised in transforming waste materials of industrial processes, oil & gas industry and food processing, into reusable products. They notably rely on their “Carbon Fibre Aerogel” technology to treat wastewater.

123Fab #31

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

“Every 18 months, we see a doubling in the number of consumer products claiming to contain nanomaterials in Europe”, said Steffen Foss Hansen, associate professor at the Technical University of Denmark and co-founder of The Nanodatabase.

Nanomanufacturing is the production of improved and nanoscale materials, structures, devices, and systems. There are two approaches to nanomanufacturing.  The first is the top-down approach, which consists of reducing large pieces of materials all the way down to the nanoscale, and the second is the bottom-up approach, which consists of creating products by building them up from atomic- and molecular-scale components. The term nanofabrication is often used instead of nanomanufacturing, but they are two very different concepts that differ in their economic dimension. While nanofabrication refers to researching and testing the feasibility of developing nano-scale materials and processes, mainly at the laboratory level, nanomanufacturing refers to the industrial-scale manufacture of nanotechnology-based objects, with emphasis on low cost and reliability.

If nanomanufacturing was mainly used for electronics (aiming to put the power of all of today’s present computers in the palm of your hand), applications in other industries are now emerging. In the solar energy sector, for instance, installation costs have been reduced by manufacturing flexible solar cell rolls instead of rigid crystalline panels. Batteries made from nanomaterials can be recharged much faster than conventional batteries. It also contributes to improving air quality thanks to a better performance of catalysts used to transform vapors escaping from cars or industrial plants into harmless gasses. Finally, several applications have been developed for the construction industry to improve the durability and enhanced performance of construction components (e.g., carbon nanotubes for better durability and crack prevention of cement), energy efficiency and safety of the buildings, facilitating the ease of maintenance and to provide increased living comfort.

All these applications of nanomanufacturing rely on a growing number of processes, mentioned above.

The top-down approach:

• Nanoimprint lithography: a process for creating nanoscale features by “stamping” or “printing” them onto a surface. A great example of such a process is Canon Nanotechnologies, the market and technology leader for high-resolution, low cost-of-ownership nanoimprint lithography systems and solutions for the semiconductor industry. Their innovative Jet and Flash Imprint Lithography technology creates the extremely small features required in today’s state-of-the-art semiconductor memory devices.

However, the process requires a lot of energy, uses chemicals (sometimes very toxic), and produces waste. Often, the results are quite unique and not easily replicable. This is why bottom-up processes are increasingly being used:

The bottom-up approach:

• Chemical vapor deposition: a process in which chemicals react to produce very pure, high-performance films. The US-based startup Grolltrex is a manufacturer of single-layer graphene sheets that uses a patented transfer and processing chemical vapor deposition method. This method allows Grolltrex to create high-performance graphene products, in addition to offering them at lower costs.
• Dip pen lithography: a process in which the tip of an atomic force microscope is “dipped” into a chemical fluid and then used to “write” on a surface, like an old-fashioned ink pen onto paper.
• Self-assembly: a process in which a group of components is assembled to form an ordered structure without outside direction. Scientists continue to explore this concept, which has become especially important in the field of nanotechnology. Indeed, as miniaturization reaches the nanoscale, conventional manufacturing technologies are failing because it has not yet been possible to build machinery that assembles nanoscale components into functional devices.

Although the applications of nanomanufacturing are wide and promising (in electronics, healthcare, energy, environmental issues, etc.), major challenges explain the slow transition from lab demonstration to industrial-scale manufacturing. The main obstacles include:

1. Developing production techniques that are economically viable
2. Controlling the precision of the assembly of nanostructures
3. Testing the reliability and establishing methods for defect control. Currently, defect control in the semiconductor industry is non-selective and takes 20-25% of the total manufacturing time. Removal of defects for the nano-scale systems is projected to take up much more time because it requires selective and careful removal of impurities.
4. Maintaining the nano-scale properties and quality of nano-system in high-rate and high-volume production.
5. Assessing the environmental and social impacts, as the emergence of nanotechnology has led to the pollution of trillions of minuscule plastic particles in the oceans, waterways, and even in our bodies. High-tech workers are exposed to unusual solvents and rare earth materials that have raised safety concerns.

To scale, not only does nanomanufacturing require more time and investment to scale, but the health and environmental issues linked to the production of new nano-elements need to be addressed quickly. Nanomanufacturing would, if these issues are solved, play a key role in the innovations of many industries.

2 Key Figures

184 Nanomanufacturing startups

registered by Pitchbook

Market size expected to reach $122bn by 2025

The market size of nanoproducts is expected to reach $122bn by 2025, a CAGR of 14.3% from 2020.

3 startups to draw inspiration from

This week, we identified three startups that we can draw inspiration from: NanoMech, Nano-C, and Advano.

NanoMech

NanoMech manufactures lubricants, coatings, and cutting tools with their proprietary nanoscale additives that increase production rates and part quality while reducing setup times and costs.

Nano-C

Nano-C develops nanostructured carbons for use in high-value energy and electronics applications. It develops nanostructured carbons for use in high-value energy and electronics applications.

ADVANO

ADVANO combines nanotechnology with fundamental chemical engineering principles to accelerate the renewable energy revolution. Its silicon nanoparticles increase the energy density lithium-ion batteries 30-40% without sacrificing battery life or increasing the battery cost.