CHF 40,000 for a safe laser powder bed fusion machine, a digital pill for erectile dysfunction, and carbon-free energy solutions
24.10.2022
a-metal, E-rupt, and Neology win Venture Kick's second stage of financial and entrepreneurial support. Their projects make metal 3d printing more accessible to the broad industry, offer a digital therapy for erectile dysfunction that includes scientifically proven modules, and aim at bringing a holistic solution of carbon-free energy solution for commercial transportation.
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 a-metal: Stephan Steiner and Andreas Kuster.
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 E-rupt: (from the upper left corner to the right) - founder Melanie Baumgartner, research assistant at ETHZ, Dr. Ines Schweizer, Content Advisor, MD Uwe Bieri, medical advisor and urologist, Till Wietlisbach, UX designer, and Clement Obiegbu, marketing and communications advisor.
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 Neology's team from left to right: Evgeniya Vorobyeva, doctoral degree in Chemical Engineering from ETH Zurich, Aris Maroonian, founder & CEO, MSc in Electrical Engineering at EPFL and currently pursuing his Executive MBA at IMD, and Kevin Turani-i-Belloto, Ph.D.in Hydrogen Storage Technologies at the University of Montpellier and MSc in Commercial Engineering & Project Management at INSEEC.
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a-metal: Making metal 3d printing more accessible to the broad industry
Today, there are many obstacles for SMEs or inexperienced enterprises to get into additive manufacturing technologies. Especially for metal-based AM technologies, machines are very expensive, very big and the handling is unsafe. After talking to more than 20 leads in the automotive, aerospace, medical, dental, jewelry, tooling, and the university sector, more than 10 LOIs show, that they developed a great machine solution to address the industries'needs.
The team behind a-metal consists of co-founders Stephan Steiner with MSc in Mechanical Engineering from ETH Zurich, and Andreas Kuster, a student at FHNW in Brugg. Their vision is to boost the innovation power and sustainability of the economy by making metal 3d printing more accessible to the broad industry. Thanks to their affordable, compact, and safe machine solution, they enable SMEs, small R&D departments, and the education sector to enter the professional metal additive manufacturing. Besides the compact desktop machine, they provide the needed powder material in sealed cartridges and an easy-to-use software package. The machine can be operated by any person with an artisan background and does not need a cleanroom environment, which reduces infrastructure costs. This will open a professional entry-level metal 3d printing market in an existing fast-growing USD 11bn market.
The funds granted from Venture Kick will be used to boost their MVP development, grow their team and get in contact with more pilot customers and pre-seed investors. This will enable them to launch their pilot program at the end of 2023. www.a-metal.com.
E.rupt: the pocket therapist and digital pill for erectile dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is highly prevalent and among the most frequently reported health complaints globally. ED is characterized by a recurrent inability to achieve or maintain an erection firm enough during sexual intercourse or a relevant decrease in erectile rigidity. It is estimated that 322 million men worldwide will be affected by ED in 2025, and nearly every second man will experience ED once in his life. 70% percent of men will never reach out for help due to shame and guilt, and existing therapy methods are rigid and complicated, such as face-to-face psychotherapy and PDE5-Inhibitors (Viagra).
E.rupt offers innovative and holistic ED therapy as a smartphone application -scientifically based – accessible for everyone, everywhere. The e.rupt team, composed of Melanie Baumgartner, founder, and psychologist, Dr. Ines Schweizer, content advisor, MD Uwe Bieri, medical advisor, and urologist, Till Wietlisbach as UX designer, and Clement Obiegbu, marketing, and communications advisor -is developing digital therapy for ED that includes psychological modules from cognitive behavioral therapy and cooperates with local laboratories to provide anonymous blood tests to check users' lab values that indicate underlying organic causes for ED. Additionally, the application is hidden on the smartphone and only accessible by the user, 24 hours a day, seven days a week -the pocket therapist & digital pill without side effects. Users will be guided through a scientifically proven therapy program invented specifically for ED, containing psychological and physical exercises, emotion regulation strategies, and several skills training, and the possibility to reach out to an actual therapist or urologist nearby if wanted. The application will be covered by the insurance.
The Venture Kick funds will help e.rupt to develop its marketing strategy and community-building actions further. In Addition, the application prototype will be improved and parallelly tested with community members and potential users.
Neology: Ammonia as carbon-free energy vector for commercial transportation
“The climate crisis a code red for humanity,” says the United Nations Secretary-General. There is no way around it, greenhouse gas emissions will have to be reduced in the future and Neology brings affordable carbon-free energy to the traditionally polluting commercial transportation sector, starting with heavy-duty transportation.
The team is composed of Aris Maroonian, founder & CEO, MSc in Electrical Engineering at EPFL and currently pursuing his Executive MBA at IMD, and technical experts, Evgeniya Vorobyeva, a doctoral degree in Chemical Engineering from ETH Zurich and postdoc in Electrochemical Energy Storage, and Kevin Turani-i-Belloto, Ph.D. in Hydrogen Storage Technologies at the University of Montpellier and MSc in Commercial Engineering & Project Management at INSEEC. Senior scientists from HES-SO and experienced managers from the automotive and industrial manufacturing industries support the team. Neology aims to bring a holistic solution of carbon-free energy for commercial transportation, utilizing ammonia as the energy carrier through neoACT, its proprietary ammonia cracking technology. The solution leverages ammonia’s inherent properties such as carbon-free, high volumetric energy density, long-lasting storage capability, scalability factor, acceptance by the industrial sector, ease of deployment, and existing infrastructure. The developed technology of ammonia cracking system is a two-stage process, starting with a thermochemical process that decomposes liquid ammonia into hydrogen and nitrogen, followed by a gas stream purification to reach the highest hydrogen purity grades necessary to supply fuel cells. Neology has a functioning prototype, the development of which was supported by Venture Kick’s first investment in July 2022. Carbon-free energy carriers, such as ammonia and hydrogen, will play a systemic role in the transition to renewables in the coming years. The global market for carbon-free energy is estimated to reach CHF 446 billion, by replacing fossil-fuel-based energy supply with carbon-free energy solutions, in order to satisfy the Paris Climate agreement scenario limiting the temperature increase to 2°C. Neology will focus its initial efforts on delivering stationary and mobile solutions for the estimated CHF 17 billion market of commercial transportation in Europe.
Venture Kick funds will be used to finance operations according to Neology’s plan to bring its solution to market as early as 2024. Furthermore, collaboration with HES-SO Valais-Wallis continues through an InnoChèque grant. Activities of business development and system requirements through interviews of prospective customers are ongoing. neology.ch
Today, there are many obstacles for SMEs or inexperienced enterprises to get into additive manufacturing technologies. Especially for metal-based AM technologies, machines are very expensive, very big and the handling is unsafe. After talking to more than 20 leads in the automotive, aerospace, medical, dental, jewelry, tooling, and the university sector, more than 10 LOIs show, that they developed a great machine solution to address the industries'needs.
The team behind a-metal consists of co-founders Stephan Steiner with MSc in Mechanical Engineering from ETH Zurich, and Andreas Kuster, a student at FHNW in Brugg. Their vision is to boost the innovation power and sustainability of the economy by making metal 3d printing more accessible to the broad industry. Thanks to their affordable, compact, and safe machine solution, they enable SMEs, small R&D departments, and the education sector to enter the professional metal additive manufacturing. Besides the compact desktop machine, they provide the needed powder material in sealed cartridges and an easy-to-use software package. The machine can be operated by any person with an artisan background and does not need a cleanroom environment, which reduces infrastructure costs. This will open a professional entry-level metal 3d printing market in an existing fast-growing USD 11bn market.
The funds granted from Venture Kick will be used to boost their MVP development, grow their team and get in contact with more pilot customers and pre-seed investors. This will enable them to launch their pilot program at the end of 2023. www.a-metal.com.
E.rupt: the pocket therapist and digital pill for erectile dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is highly prevalent and among the most frequently reported health complaints globally. ED is characterized by a recurrent inability to achieve or maintain an erection firm enough during sexual intercourse or a relevant decrease in erectile rigidity. It is estimated that 322 million men worldwide will be affected by ED in 2025, and nearly every second man will experience ED once in his life. 70% percent of men will never reach out for help due to shame and guilt, and existing therapy methods are rigid and complicated, such as face-to-face psychotherapy and PDE5-Inhibitors (Viagra).
E.rupt offers innovative and holistic ED therapy as a smartphone application -scientifically based – accessible for everyone, everywhere. The e.rupt team, composed of Melanie Baumgartner, founder, and psychologist, Dr. Ines Schweizer, content advisor, MD Uwe Bieri, medical advisor, and urologist, Till Wietlisbach as UX designer, and Clement Obiegbu, marketing, and communications advisor -is developing digital therapy for ED that includes psychological modules from cognitive behavioral therapy and cooperates with local laboratories to provide anonymous blood tests to check users' lab values that indicate underlying organic causes for ED. Additionally, the application is hidden on the smartphone and only accessible by the user, 24 hours a day, seven days a week -the pocket therapist & digital pill without side effects. Users will be guided through a scientifically proven therapy program invented specifically for ED, containing psychological and physical exercises, emotion regulation strategies, and several skills training, and the possibility to reach out to an actual therapist or urologist nearby if wanted. The application will be covered by the insurance.
The Venture Kick funds will help e.rupt to develop its marketing strategy and community-building actions further. In Addition, the application prototype will be improved and parallelly tested with community members and potential users.
Neology: Ammonia as carbon-free energy vector for commercial transportation
“The climate crisis a code red for humanity,” says the United Nations Secretary-General. There is no way around it, greenhouse gas emissions will have to be reduced in the future and Neology brings affordable carbon-free energy to the traditionally polluting commercial transportation sector, starting with heavy-duty transportation.
The team is composed of Aris Maroonian, founder & CEO, MSc in Electrical Engineering at EPFL and currently pursuing his Executive MBA at IMD, and technical experts, Evgeniya Vorobyeva, a doctoral degree in Chemical Engineering from ETH Zurich and postdoc in Electrochemical Energy Storage, and Kevin Turani-i-Belloto, Ph.D. in Hydrogen Storage Technologies at the University of Montpellier and MSc in Commercial Engineering & Project Management at INSEEC. Senior scientists from HES-SO and experienced managers from the automotive and industrial manufacturing industries support the team. Neology aims to bring a holistic solution of carbon-free energy for commercial transportation, utilizing ammonia as the energy carrier through neoACT, its proprietary ammonia cracking technology. The solution leverages ammonia’s inherent properties such as carbon-free, high volumetric energy density, long-lasting storage capability, scalability factor, acceptance by the industrial sector, ease of deployment, and existing infrastructure. The developed technology of ammonia cracking system is a two-stage process, starting with a thermochemical process that decomposes liquid ammonia into hydrogen and nitrogen, followed by a gas stream purification to reach the highest hydrogen purity grades necessary to supply fuel cells. Neology has a functioning prototype, the development of which was supported by Venture Kick’s first investment in July 2022. Carbon-free energy carriers, such as ammonia and hydrogen, will play a systemic role in the transition to renewables in the coming years. The global market for carbon-free energy is estimated to reach CHF 446 billion, by replacing fossil-fuel-based energy supply with carbon-free energy solutions, in order to satisfy the Paris Climate agreement scenario limiting the temperature increase to 2°C. Neology will focus its initial efforts on delivering stationary and mobile solutions for the estimated CHF 17 billion market of commercial transportation in Europe.
Venture Kick funds will be used to finance operations according to Neology’s plan to bring its solution to market as early as 2024. Furthermore, collaboration with HES-SO Valais-Wallis continues through an InnoChèque grant. Activities of business development and system requirements through interviews of prospective customers are ongoing. neology.ch