Sakowin is a green deep tech company based in France and a member of the EIC Scaling Club’s Clean Fuels & Hydrogen group. Driven by the imperative to rapidly decarbonize human activities, the scale-up is focused on developing innovative energy solutions. 

Last October, during the Scale 100 Forum in Athens, Greece, we caught up with Mathieu Schmitt, Sakowin's Strategic Partnerships Manager. We discussed the scale-up’s mission, the people behind the idea, the company’s experience as a member of the EIC Scaling Club, and more. 

Listen to the interview with Sakowin here:

Sakowin produces decarbonised hydrogen from natural gas using the methane plasmalysis method – an innovative and efficient technology. “We decarbonate natural gas through a methane plasmalysis into hydrogen and solid carbon. It's energy-efficient – five times more than electrolysis – and doesn't emit CO2. What we have at the end is solid carbon,” says Mathieu.

As explained on the company’s website, traditional methods of producing hydrogen can be more affordable, but they emit high levels of carbon dioxide. Conventional hydrogen production is cheaper now, but the long-term costs associated with carbon emissions, environmental damage, and regulatory pressures make it problematic and unsustainable. 

The genesis of Sakowin

Sakowin was launched in 2017 by the current CEO, Gerard Gatt, a highly experienced business leader with a deep understanding of the U.S. tech landscape. Gerard's career highlights include angel investing in numerous startups and contributing to the development of cloud computing at Citrix, demonstrating his vision and expertise in emerging technologies.

Sakowin was created to decarbonise industries. Its roots can be traced back to 2016 when Gerard explored global challenges of energy transition and energy performance issues. During this process, he discovered hydrogen as one of the most relevant solutions for accelerating decarbonisation. 

Sakowin’s team started the hydrogen production journey with seawater resonance electrolysis technology. However, after some in-depth research, the team discovered it couldn’t be successfully industrialised. In 2021, the scale-up found that the methane plasmalysis method was the ultimate solution. 

Accelerating growth

The scale-up has had a long-standing successful relationship with EIC. In 2022, Sakowin won the EIC Accelerator program, raising EUR 6.5 million. In total, the scale-up has raised and secured more than EUR 11 million and is currently raising a new round of EUR 25 million. 

When asked to list other significant achievements in their journey, Mathieu emphasises their participation in the EIC Accelerator as an essential recognition of the company in Europe. He adds:

“We’ve also succeeded in selling three pilots. The first one will be delivered by the end of this year. Two among them are in Europe, which is a great success. And the next step, of course, is the finished product that we expect to deliver by 2026.”

Sakowin has two main target markets: Europe and the U.S. As Mathieu explains, both Europe and the U.S. are strongly focused on decarbonisation and green initiatives, though energy costs are lower in the U.S. Sakowin has strong leads in both of these markets and a full-time team presence in both regions. The scale-up currently has a team of 30 people, structured into three core teams: Technical, Sales, and Administrative/Finance. 

Sakowin and the EIC Scaling Club

Sakowin joined the EIC Scaling Club in October 2024 as one of the 72 participants of the second cohort. When asked about their expectations regarding participation in the Club, Mathieu says that Sakowin has three main goals. The first is meeting investors and corporates: “And I think we’ve already succeeded by being at the Scale 100 Forum today,” he adds. 

The second Sakowin’s goal is related to regulations: “We need Europe to have a clear vision of where the regulatory framework needs to go. And that's one of our main goals from participating in the Scaling Club.” 

The third goal is related to Sakowin’s team and its growth. Mathieu tells us that while the current team is excellent and highly skilled, new talent attraction is still relevant for the scale-up: “Being recognised as a scale-up is always very helpful to get new talent on board.” 

“It's important to acknowledge how Europe, via programs like the EIC Scaling Club, is establishing its position. The capital and subsidies they provide are crucial, even if some feel it's not enough – it's a positive first step.  Furthermore, they offer consulting to support our growth and scaling efforts.”

See the full interview with Mathieu Schmitt in the video below, or visit our YouTube channel (and enjoy our other videos while you're there!).

About the EIC Scaling Club

The EIC Scaling Club is a curated community where 120+ European deep tech scale-ups with the potential to build world-class businesses and solve major global challenges come together with investors, corporate innovators and other industry stakeholders to spur growth.

The top 120+ European deep tech companies will be carefully selected from a pool of high-growth scale-ups that have benefitted from EIC financial schemes, other European and national innovation programmes, and beyond.

The EIC Scaling Club is an EIC-funded initiative run in partnership by Tech Tour, Bpifrance (EuroQuity), Hello Tomorrow, Tech.eu (Webrazzi), EurA and IESE Business School.

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