Enerdrape on the international expansion course

Since the closing of its CHF 1.3 million seed financing round in January, EPFL spin-off Enerdrape has been very active, working on several promising projects around the world, developing its geothermal without drilling solution and opening up new commercial prospects.

Contacted by Startupticker.ch, Margaux Peltier, CEO and co-founder, explains that the Enerdrape team is currently finalizing the installation of an ambitious project in Aigle comprising over 300 geothermal panels for a mixed-use building. This large-scale installation will produce a renewable heat source of around 55 kW, enough to cover 100% of the annual heating needs of one of the buildings, i.e. around 125 MWh of energy.

Expansion in Spain and the US. 

In another key development, the startup is also preparing to launch a new project in Madrid, Spain, in partnership with a local innovator. In the United States, a pilot project using the Enerdrape system in an underground tunnel beneath the University of Chicago has been completed.  A new application of its solution to recover waste heat from the underground tunnel is being tested there. On this subject, the CEO adds: "The North American market is very promising for our Enerdrape solution, and our co-founder Alessandro Rotta Loria is based in Chicago, where we will be starting our first commercial developments". Other international avenues are opening for the startup, notably with the first pilot projects in France at the end of the year.

Enerdrape operates the world's first prefabricated geothermal panel technology. Thanks to an installation without drilling, Enerdrape panels are suitable to capture renewable thermal energy from underground areas such as car parks or tunnels, thus achieving CO2 savings. The panels can be used for new buildings as well as for the optimization of existing buildings. Enerdrape scalable panels are quick, easy to install and compatible with all heat pumps.

(ES)