EIC SC_interview_Sweetch Energy_blogpost banner

Sweetch Energy is a deep-tech venture developing and deploying a new renewable energy source with osmotic power. This pioneering French startup is a part of EIC Scaling Club’s Renewable Energies cohort. 

Nicolas Heuzé, CEO and one of the company’s three co-founders, highlighted the potential of this natural, weather-independent source of energy found in river deltas worldwide: “Estimates show that 15% of global electricity needs could be covered with osmotic power, making it a major pillar of the energy transition.” 

Making osmotic power competitive

Osmotic energy is generated by harnessing the difference in salinity between fresh river water and seawater. This principle has been around for 75 years, but researchers and industry specialists have struggled to find a way to make this technology efficient and competitive. 

The well-known concept of using membranes for generating osmotic energy has been underperforming and expensive. Sweetch Energy has changed this by applying a recent breakthrough in nanofluidics to develop a completely new membrane. 

In simple terms, this innovative membrane has nano-sized pores that can be selective to classify the ions (negative ions on one side, positive on the other side, just like a battery). The new membrane’s pores are significantly larger, allowing a much faster circulation of ions and improving the membrane's performance.

Furthermore, Sweetch Energy’s patented membrane is based on lower-cost biomaterials, making the whole technology more efficient and cost-effective. Nicolas Heuzé pointed out:

“Our technology is a closed-loop system using only freshwater and seawater, with zero emissions (no noise, smoke, or smell). Its modular design minimizes its footprint and eliminates the need for large structures. This approach stands in stark contrast to technologies with significant visual and environmental impact, like wind farms, which are also more difficult for society to accept”

Ahead of the competition – but racing against the clock

Sweetch Energy is based in Brittany, the West of France. Nicolas Heuzé credits his most valuable asset – a team of 50 R&D and process engineers, project developers, and other committed individuals bringing their creativity and dedication to every challenge – which have not been scarce. 

After designing the core membrane, Sweetch Energy’s biggest hurdle was building the entire osmotic system around it. Scaling this R&D project to industrial size meant a complete system redesign and securing patents for the technology.

Now, the company focuses on mass production and automation to achieve competitive pricing. It also works with partners like French utility EDF and other stakeholders to identify and prepare deployment sites for rapid rollout. The first demonstrator on the Rhône River in Southern France is nearing completion, with generator installation planned for this summer. “When this first period is completed, then it's about deploying at a very large scale,” Nicolas Heuzé told us.

Sweetch Energy

Finally, financing this hardware-heavy endeavor is a challenge in itself. Unlike software with lower upfront costs, hardware deployment requires significant capital investment. While the company has secured €40 million from French and European VCs, they are looking for €150-200 million in the next three years

According to Nicolas Heuzé, Sweetch Energy is three to four years ahead of any type of competition. At the same time, the team is racing against the clock: 

“It's a really massive industry that we're pushing here with a new science. However, there are many people working on this principle in other regions of the world. If we want to stay at the forefront of this industry, we need to move faster. My commitment is clear: I'm here to make us the European champions in osmotic power." 

 

EIC Scaling Club presents strategic partnerships

Since joining the EIC Scaling Club, the founders of Sweetch Energy have already noticed its practical value – it’s a resourceful community that offers more than just social gatherings. Nicolas Heuzé says:

“We've met with key members and are actively identifying others with potential support. Our exciting but challenging project demands strong partnerships. That’s why the Club's network is invaluable in helping us find the right collaborators to push forward”. 

"Sweetch Energy has the potential to be a major success story, driving clean energy solutions for the European industry. The question is, how can Europe foster innovation like ours? By working together with the EIC Scaling Club, we can ensure Europe becomes the hub for deploying and developing this technology," Nicolas says.

 

About the EIC Scaling Club

EIC_Scaling Club_general_Twitter

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.

Subscribe to our newsletter here to stay up-to-date!

By/ EIC Scaling Club

Related Articles

Recent Articles

Tallano Technologies: On a mission to work for the future generations

1 Oct 2024

Carmen Font – Clean Fuels and Hydrogen Group President

26 Sep 2024

Heimdall Power: Revolutionizing grid management to enable energy transition

24 Sep 2024

Easelink: Leading the way in automated EV charging

18 Sep 2024

EIC Scaling Club members have raised a cumulative 73M EUR in advance of the Scale 100 Forum

17 Sep 2024

Persistence, stamina, and grit are more important than ever – Interview with Patrik Sobocki

11 Sep 2024

UMNAI: The missing piece of today’s AI – Hybrid Intelligence

11 Sep 2024

Transmetrics: Redefining the transport industry with the power of AI

3 Sep 2024

How to create an effective 45-second pitch in 7 steps

2 Sep 2024

Basemark: Transforming the driving experience with augmented reality

21 Aug 2024

Europe's Next-Gen Computing market roadmap: Decrypting future challenges

20 Aug 2024

Europe's Digital Security & Trust market roadmap: Securing growth

14 Aug 2024

Learning is a lifelong journey – Interview with Tero Vauraste

9 Aug 2024

Quobly: Tackling the world's growing computational challenges with quantum power

8 Aug 2024

Europe's Renewable Energies market roadmap: Powering through challenges

7 Aug 2024

European deep-tech scale-ups focus on market expansion, funnel optimization, and investment readiness level to attract growth funding

6 Aug 2024

Manna: The world's only autonomous drone delivery solution with positive unit economics

2 Aug 2024

Open Call – EIC matchmaking opportunity: Pitch your maritime and shipping industry innovations

1 Aug 2024

Europe's Smart Mobility market roadmap: The road ahead

30 Jul 2024

EIC Scaling Club report identifies top go-to-market challenges of European deep-tech scale-ups

24 Jul 2024

The sound of innovation: sensiBel's optical MEMS microphones

22 Jul 2024

GScan: Pioneering infrastructure assessment with muon tomography

18 Jul 2024

.lumen raises €5M for its glasses for the blind

17 Jul 2024

Meet the New Space stakeholders from Cohort 2 of the EIC Scaling Club

16 Jul 2024

Cohort 2: Introducing Clean Fuels & Hydrogen stakeholders

16 Jul 2024

XXII: Revolutionizing video analytics with AI-powered computer vision

10 Jul 2024

Cohort 2: Meet the New Biotech Platforms stakeholders

9 Jul 2024

Sweetch Energy: Providing a source of renewable energy that ‘ticks all the boxes’

8 Jul 2024

How a paradigm-shifting company can benefit from the EIC Scaling Club – Interview with Marta Garcia Pedruelo

3 Jul 2024

Decarbonizing maritime shipping with state-of-the-art technology – Interview with Dana Camps

2 Jul 2024

ThreatMark: Building AI-powered defense against evolving banking fraud

1 Jul 2024

Cohort 2: Introducing Cardiovascular Therapies stakeholders

27 Jun 2024

Stakeholders – becoming a part of the journey to innovative excellence

26 Jun 2024

Scaling new heights: How Aerones conquers the wind industry

21 Jun 2024

Cohort 2: Meet the Battery & Energy Storage stakeholders

20 Jun 2024

.lumen: Revolutionizing mobility for the visually impaired

18 Jun 2024

Bridging the Blockchain Chasm with Innovative Solutions – Interview with Fabrizia Zanca, VP of People at SettleMint

10 Jun 2024

Turning nanotechnology into business – Interview with Tom Vanhoutte

30 May 2024

Finding investment as a deeptech scaleup – interview with Larissa Skarke of World Fund

28 May 2024

Meet the man building deep tech ventures and spin-offs for IMEC: An interview with Olivier Rousseaux, its Director of Venture Development

24 May 2024