As Europe braces for a difficult winter, with energy prices still high and energy supplies at risk, the energy efficiency challenge feels more urgent than ever. One European company that has been working hard to provide a solution is German-based Kraftblock.
PepsiCo on Friday announced plans to phase out use of natural gas at a factory in the Netherlands and adopt a system based on renewable electricity to make its deep fried snacks in an industry first that Pepsi says could become a template.
Kraftblock is a high-temperature (up to 1,300°C) energy storage system designed to decarbonize the industry. Their solution can store approximately 3 times more energy than current industry solutions, and charges twice as fast. The process produces only 180 kg/MWh CO₂ which is almost five times more efficient than alternatives.
The world’s shift to renewable energy needs a solution to one central challenge: how to store excess solar and wind power for later use. Meanwhile, energy-intensive industries have a challenge of their own: what to do with all of the excess heat they generate. Kraftblock CEO Martin Schichtel, a chemist by training, believes his German-based company has the answer – a thermal-based storage system.
From hydrogen to hydropower, and from offshore solar farms to heat storage, these incredibly innovative start-ups are coming up with remarkable ideas to power our future.
News of the The Green Box – the new science, technology and enterprise campus dedicated to the development of viable and affordable clean energy solutions – has been brought to a 319 million strong global radio audience by the BBC World Service.
Across Europe, a range of entrepreneurs are attracting funds aimed to improving how power is generated and deployed in industry and at home. Kraftblock, a German start-up with a novel thermal storage solution, is one of the most recent additions to the Koolen Industries portfolio.
This is the clean energy vision being developed by Kraftblock, a German startup which is using nanotechnology to develop a highly efficient thermal storage system. The company has just taken a €3m investment from Dutch clean energy company Koolen Industries which will help it commercialise the system.
“It’s really a step forward in terms of becoming global,” says Martin Schichtel, CEO of Kraftblock, a cleantech company. Schichtel participated in the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt accelerator program RESPOND, which is operated by UnternehmerTUM. He was part of the first cohort that started in 2020 and was especially impressed by the focus on responsible leadership, impact, and sustainable business models.
Koolen Industries is at it again. In its quest to lead the energy transition, the Hengelo-based clean-energy conglomerate is pouring three million euros into German thermal energy storage specialist Kraftblock.
Dutch clean energy conglomerate Koolen Industries has invested €3 million in Kraftblock, a German firm that uses nanotechnology to develop new ways to store and transport energy as heat.
Dutch clean energy conglomerate Koolen Industries has invested €3 million in Kraftblock, a German firm that uses nanotechnology to develop new ways to store and transport energy as heat.
As we took natural resources for granted, entrepreneurs like Martin started out to reuse as much of what we use as possible. With Kraftblock he and his team are transforming the way we use waste heat within our value chains.