Europe’s electricity grid loses up to 13% of power as heat during transmission, and this problem is getting worse as renewable energy sources are built farther from where the power is needed. Conventional copper cables are not enough to fix this.
Subra is a Danish deep-tech company founded in 2014 as a spinoff from the Technical University of Denmark that aims to address this challenge. CEO and founder Anders C. Wulff, who was previously an associate professor at DTU and invented the company’s main patents, developed a way to turn high-temperature superconductor (HTS) tape into bundled round wires.
The company’s product, SUBRACABLE, helps reduce energy losses, makes cables more flexible, and can be produced in lengths exceeding 10 kilometres.
Earlier this month, Subra raised €40 million in a Series A round led by Novo Holdings, the $100 billion investment arm of the Novo Nordisk Foundation. Maj Invest and SPRIND, Germany’s federal agency for breakthrough innovation, also invested.
Along with the new funding, Subra acquired THEVA Dünnschichttechnik, a superconducting materials manufacturer near Munich that was founded in 1996. Subra supplies the cable design, while THEVA brings almost thirty years of experience in materials production and its own thin-film technology. Together, the combined company now manages the full HTS process from a single European base, with facilities in Denmark and Germany.
“We are taking this step at a critical moment, where Europe’s energy systems are under immense pressure. By bringing together our complementary technologies within one unified company, we are strengthening our ability to develop and deliver superconductor solutions to support the transformation of Europe’s energy landscape,” Wulff says.
The new funding will help combine the two businesses, increase manufacturing, and support ongoing product development for energy, industrial, and research markets.
