Ecop says its rotation heat pump device will enable industrial producers and municipalities to slash the use of fossil fuels for heating and save thousands of tonnes of CO2 per year.
Austria-based ecop has been awarded €8.5m in funding from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator for the development of high-temperature heat pumps for industry and district heating.
Ecop received a €2.5m grant, as well as a €6m equity investment, to ramp up production of its new rotation heat pump. This heating system allows factories and local and district heating systems to efficiently recover and reuse their waste heat, saving up to 2500 tonnes of CO2 per year as it drastically reduces the use of natural gas and other fossil fuels, according to the firm.
The EIC funding “is a game changer”, Fabian Sacharowitz, chief executive officer of ecop, told Impact Investor.
The extra funds will help ecop “finalise the development of the new rotor design and to realise the first working machines”, while it also “de-risks the closing of a larger investment round required in 2025 and 2026 to scale up team, production and the entire company”, Sacharowitz said.
A growth market
The European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator has a total funding pot of more than €1.2bn available for SMEs and start-ups able to develop and scale up deep tech innovations in critical fields such as generative artificial intelligence, space, critical raw materials, semiconductors and quantum technologies.
The EIC is open to innovators from all EU member states associated with Horizon Europe, one of the EU’s main funding programmes for research and innovation. The EIC offers grants of up to €2.5m, and up to €15m of equity investments, coaching and mentoring. The applicants are judged on innovation, excellence, the team they have around them and their business plan.
Ecop plans to market its new rotation heat pumps to customers next year, Sacharowitz said. The company is aiming to produce more than 100 units a year by 2028.
The market for industrial heat pumps is growing strongly, with consultancy firm McKinsey forecasting a 15% year-on-year increase until 2030, when it may attract global investments of between $12bn and $21bn.
