HyperHeat, a startup leveraging renewable energy to create zero-carbon industrial heat based near the German-French border has secured €3.5 million in a funding round led by the Amadeus APEX Technology Fund, with participation from Finindus, Possible Ventures, E44 Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Fellows, and a select group of experienced business angel investors.
The company will deploy the fresh capital to accelerate its strategic objectives: continue developing and testing its first industrial products, strengthen its team, intensify R&D efforts to achieve production readiness, and collaborate with pilot customers by 2025.
Confronting the global carbon emissions challenge
Industrial sectors are critical to the climate crisis, with over 25% of global CO2 emissions from heavy industry that require ultra-high temperatures and often rely on processes that inherently emit carbon dioxide. The most carbon-intensive sectors — steel, cement, and chemical production — face significant decarbonisation challenges, particularly the need to generate extremely high temperatures while managing inherent carbon dioxide production processes.
HyperHeat is tackling a critical challenge in the global effort to combat climate change: decarbonising heavy industries such as steel, cement, and chemical production. Unlike traditional methods, HyperHeat’s technology avoids degradation while providing a cost-effective solution to retrofit existing furnaces. This innovation could significantly reduce emissions in industries that have long depended on fossil fuels.
In a recent interview with TFN, Frederick Lessmann, co-founder of Hyperheat, highlighted the pressing issue the company is addressing: “The energy-intensive industry’s urgent need to cut approximately 8.5 gigatons of annual CO2 emissions from industrial heat by 2050. While existing green technologies can handle lower temperatures, half of the heat demand occurs between 1000 and 2000°C, where no technically and economically viable renewable energy solution currently exists.”
Founded in 2023 by Dr. Lars Amsbeck and Frederick Lessmann, HyperHeat aims to address these challenges with its innovative solution, reducing emissions and transitioning companies (in the steel, cement, and chemical industries) to more sustainable practices. The company’s end goal is to reduce global CO2 emissions by 16 per cent through an innovative approach to high-temperature, emission-free heating.
HyperHeat’s technology: decarbonise heavy industry
HyperHeat’s innovative industrial electric heater sets a new standard in the industry by reaching temperatures up to 2000°C and boasting a 10+ year operational lifetime. It maintains low capital expenditure comparable to natural gas burners and is 98% efficient in converting electricity to thermal energy. The device’s modular design, ranging from kilowatt to multi-megawatt units, further enhances its versatility and applicability, positioning it as a leader in the transition to sustainable industrial practices.
In essence, the company’s technology harnesses ultra-hot resistive heating, essentially creating a high-powered industrial “electric hair dryer” that can directly replace natural gas burners. When powered by renewable electricity, this innovative heater enables rapid decarbonisation of high-temperature industrial processes through cost-efficient retrofitting.
Lessmann emphasises their technological advantage: “Compared to burning green hydrogen, HyperHeat demonstrates 2-3 times higher efficiency. The hydrogen supply chain achieves only 30-50% efficiency, meaning 1 unit of renewable electricity generates just 0.3-0.5 units of heat. In contrast, HyperHeat can transform 1 unit of renewable electricity into nearly 1 unit of thermal energy.”
HyperHeat’s technology is also storage-agnostic and adaptable to various energy concepts. The company collaborates with thermal storage suppliers to address renewable energy intermittency. At the same time, customers and utilities invest in electrical grid storage to ensure a consistent power supply for the electric heaters.
A new paradigm for industrial decarbonisation
The startup’s solution promises to be more cost-effective than current fossil fuel alternatives, potentially establishing a new foundation for global industrial prosperity. HyperHeat can continuously provide industrial process heat thanks to its ability to combine electric heaters with thermal storage and renewable sources like solar and wind power.
Lessmann concludes with a vision of scalability: “HyperHeat plans to manufacture industrial heaters based on our proprietary technology. Growing demand will create a strong investment incentive to expand our production capabilities and potentially explore technology licensing opportunities with original equipment manufacturers.”
