Green Visions: inspiring entrepreneurs in the cleantech era — Interview with Margaux Peltier, Co-founder and CEO of Enerdrape
During the summer months, we ask people who inspire the Swiss startup ecosystem to share their invaluable insights with the Venturelab community. In this captivating first episode of "Green Visions," we delve into the remarkable journey of Margaux Peltier, Co-founder and CEO of Enerdrape, a trailblazing cleantech startup. The Scaleup Bootcamp powered by Venturelab served as the catalyst, laying the foundation for a sustainable partnership between Enerdrape and Coop. Venturelab invites you to join us and Margaux, as she shares her mission and navigates the challenges she faced on her path to transforming the energy landscape. Brace yourself for an exciting tale that will inspire you to make a lasting positive impact on the world.
Name: Margaux PeltierJob title: Co-founder and CEO, Enerdrape
City: Lausanne
What my startup does: Enerdrape specializes in enhancing the built environment to expedite the energy transition of buildings. The company pioneers a groundbreaking thermal panel designed specifically for underground environments. This innovative technology can transform various underground infrastructures, ranging from garages to tunnels, into sustainable energy sources for meeting buildings' heating and cooling requirements.
Margaux, can you provide an overview of your startup’s mission in the cleantech industry?
Our mission is to be at the forefront of urban geothermal technologies. Enerdrape envisions a future where any underground structure will serve buildings, infrastructures, and city districts with locally sourced clean thermal energy, cutting down reliance on fossil fuels and underpinning massive decarbonization of the building sector.
What inspired the development of this innovative panel technology?Enerdrape's innovative panel technology is the outcome of over 15 years of extensive research focused on integrating geothermal heat exchangers into building foundations. The primary objective was to overcome a longstanding obstacle associated with geothermal technologies: the need for drilling, which has been a major hindrance to widespread adoption, particularly in urban and built environments.
What are the main benefits customers can expect from implementing your technology?
Our panel technology offers a hassle-free and readily deployable solution, granting uninterrupted access to renewable thermal energy available 24/7. This energy source operates independently of external climate conditions, providing a sustainable heating and cooling supply while enhancing surfaces' visual appeal and marketing potential. Customers who choose Enerdrape's panels enjoy numerous advantages. Firstly, the installation and maintenance processes are streamlined, resulting in a straightforward and time-efficient setup. Additionally, the solution is cost-effective, delivering value for money. The panels can easily integrate with heat pumps, offering convenient plug-and-play compatibility. Lastly, Enerdrape's panels serve as an effective means of communication support, providing an additional medium for conveying messages or branding.
Could you provide more information about the collaboration with Coop, and what are this project's objectives and expected outcomes?
Enerdrape and Coop crossed paths during the Scaleup Bootcamp organized by digitalswitzerland, Gebert Rüf Stiftung, and Venture Kick, powered by Venturelab. The coop project fulfils an energy requirement while simultaneously serving as a testing ground for a novel, reproducible heating system that can be implemented in other buildings. For Enerdrape, this project presents a valuable opportunity to gather on-site data regarding their full-scale system, enabling them to make necessary adaptations and continuously improve.
First major Enerdrape Project for Coop, installed in May 2023.
What are your future plans for developing and deploying your technology, and do you have any upcoming partnerships or projects in the pipeline?
We have ambitious future plans, which include advancing our product and solution portfolio to offer a comprehensive solution in the market. We are actively working on developing partnerships and acquiring initial clients to lay the foundation for future project development.
How do you envision the scalability of your panel technology?Enerdrape's strength lies in its modular design, similar to solar panels. This feature makes the product highly scalable, accommodating various project sizes and requirements. We offer an alternative renewable energy source that seamlessly integrates with other clean heating and cooling systems and other renewable energy sources.
What challenges or obstacles do you anticipate in the widespread adoption of your technology?
Establishing a robust supply chain is of paramount importance for Enerdrape, as it is for any hardware company. We surpassed several significant milestones in the previous year by successfully pre-industrializing the technology and initiating the first pre-serial production phase. However, building a comprehensive supply chain is an ongoing process that requires continuous innovation and improvement.
In addition to supply chain development, Enerdrape recognizes the significance of market education and knowledge transfer for achieving widespread adoption of our solution. We are proactively addressing this aspect by forging early corporate partnerships, fostering relationships with key stakeholders, and engaging in knowledge-sharing initiatives. These efforts are geared towards ensuring that the market is well-informed about the benefits and potential applications of Enerdrape's technology, thereby increasing the chances of successful adoption and market penetration.
What role do data and analytics play in your technology?
Data and analytics play a crucial role in the operations of any tech company, even for Enerdrape, a company primarily focused on hardware. We understand the significance of harnessing data and have capitalized on decades of data collection to develop our unique expertise in the thermal behaviour of underground environments. This deep understanding of how these environments behave and respond to thermal heat exchange has been instrumental in the development of Enerdrape's panel technology. The question often arises as to why similar solutions have not been introduced before. The answer lies in a combination of factors, but a fundamental reason is the necessity of comprehending the intricate dynamics of these environments. Without the insights derived from data and analytics, the development of the Enerdrape panel technology would not have been feasible.
Today, Enerdrape continues to leverage data and analytics for optimization across various aspects of our solution. We utilize this wealth of information to enhance energy production, maximize efficiency, and ensure the resilience and longevity of the technology. Through ongoing analysis and insights gained from data, Enerdrape strives to continuously optimize our solution to benefit our customers and the environment.
How do you ensure the durability and longevity of your panels?
Our solution prioritizes the selection of materials and the establishment of a reliable process. From the outset, we recognized that the widespread adoption of such a system would be driven by its simplicity in terms of installation, maintenance, and repair. This emphasis on simplicity is essential for creating a reliable and sustainable system in the long run. To achieve this goal, Enerdrape actively collaborates with installers and professionals in the field to continually enhance our product.
Enerdrape's Team and Ceo Margaux Duchamps won the Grand Prize at the 25th >>venture>> in September 2022.
Finally, what sets your cleantech startup apart from other companies operating in the renewable energy sector, what is your competitive advantage, and how do you leverage it for success?
Enerdrape is widely recognized as the 'no-brainer' choice when it comes to underground heat and geothermal systems. Its outstanding features and benefits make it the clear frontrunner in this field. One of its key strengths lies in its noninvasive nature, which is highly valued by prospective clients. Enerdrape recognizes that being noninvasive is a crucial factor in gaining the trust and preference of their future clients.
Rather than positioning ourselves in opposition to other technologies, we aim to complement existing solutions in the market. This approach highlights the strength of our system. Installing Enerdrape does not hinder the integration of other energy sources or solutions. On the contrary, it allows for a complementary approach where the benefits of each component are leveraged to enhance overall efficiency. Enerdrape's system is designed to work in synergy with other technologies, maximizing the advantages of each part to achieve optimal results.
Enerdrape is a Venture Kick 2021 alumn and represented the Swiss National Startup Team on the Venture Leaders Cleantech Roadshow 2022. It started a major collaboration with Coop after initially meeting with the leading Swiss retailer at the Scaleup Bootcamp, organized by digitalswitzerland, Gebert Rüf Stiftung, Venture Kick, and powered by Venturelab.
Enerdrape SA: Turning underground environment into renewable heat sources.
enerdrape commercialises the world's first prefabricated geothermal panel technology. Thanks to an installation without drilling, enerdrape panels make it possible to turn underground structures, su... Read more