Swiss Single Family Office Invests in Energy Startup Electrochaea

Last week we reported that the Swiss smart grid startup DEPsys received a new €13.2M funding round, amongst others by the Wecken & Cie. single family office. Shortly thereafter, another energy startup investment by a single family office took place, according to information of deutsche-startups.de: the Swiss Caliza family office joined a new funding round for Munich-based Power-To-Methane company Electrochaea.

Innovative Process To Convert Power To Gas

Electrochaea offers a technology to convert electricity to „pipeline-grade“ renewable gas. The „Power-To-Gas“ process is based on a „selectively evolved microorganism“, a methanogenic archaea. The beauty in this technology lies in the fact that it enables power generators and grid operators to store renewable energy as gas, which can be injected to the gas grid and used when renewable energy is raw (e.g. in a wind still night).

From Research To The Foundation of Electrochaea

After basic research at the University of Chicago in 2006, a first field trial took place in 2011. A commercial trial took place at the University of Aarhus, which demonstrated the scalability and viability of the technology. The focus in upcoming years will probably lie on an enhancement of the technology and the realization of more Power-To-Gas plants. Further growth is supported through the recent founding round of KfW, Munich Venture Partners, the Swiss single family office Caliza and the French energy supplier engie. Another recent investment shows the relevance of innovative energy storage solutions: Sonnen, a comparable German startup, was sold for €500M to oil giant Shell.

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