Enschede-based startup Sound Energy has raised 1 million euro form Cottonwood Technology Fund and the regional development fund Oost NL of the Twente Innovation Fund.
The capital raised will be used to expand the team and start mass production. “This investment enables us to focus on volume production of the THEAC-25 prototype and start attracting international clients”, says founder and CEO Herbert Berkhout, in the announcement about the investment (in Dutch).
Sound Energy, as the name implies, uses sound waves to cool and warm up buildings. The application of the company’s Thermo Acoustic Energy Converter (THEAC) can lead to energy savings of up to 50 percent. What’s more, the technology is CO2 neutral and doesn’t use any cooling chemicals or electricity to get the job done. In the summer solar heated water is led to THEAC-25 where it’s converted into cold water or cold air for cooling purposes. In the winter the process is reversed. The company claims to reach cooling temperatures as low as – 30 degrees Celsius.
“We are very impressed by the advanced technological opportunities the system offers to be able to compete in many industries, says Ray Quintana, General Partner at Cottonwood Technology Fund. “The THEAC-25s brings together a unique combination of energy savings, low costs and zero carbon footprint”, he adds.
In 2015 Sound Energy won the Young Technology Award (in Dutch). However, the company’s chief research officer Kees Blok has been working on the development of the technology for more than 20 years.