Zurich-based startup qCella produces natural cellulose fibers filled with copper to create a unique hybrid material to develop easily shape-customizable, paper-thin and fully homogeneous heating mats. The obtained prize of CHF 150,000 from Venture Kick will accelerate the startup’s market entry.
Current heating solutions usually heat entire rooms and car interiors. Warming the air close to people or directly to the people themselves would be an ideal solution, and this is what qCella aims to achieve. Established from the doctoral thesis of Murielle Schreck at ETH Zürich, qCella has developed a patent-pending copper cellulose hybrid material inside cellulose fibre composite, from which the startup manufactures its product, qCella heating mats.
The mats outperform the conventional heating wire technology by presenting the proper electrical resistance across the entire structure so that the mats heat homogeneously when connected to a power source (e.g., a battery). This capability allows the paper-thin, light, and flexible heating mats to be cut into different shapes and sizes and integrated more easily and cost-effectively into the final heated products, such as seats, shoes or clothing. Most importantly, the product heating design, including qCella’s heating mats, eliminates the need for a thick, heat-losing upholstery layer; therefore, almost no heat is lost, and much more energy-efficient heating is achieved.
With their solution, qCella aims to make localized heating attractive and a gold standard in the energy sector such that personal comfort and energy efficiency go hand in hand. Today’s estimated CHF 6.5 billion market for qCella’s innovative heating mats is boosted by a growing demand for energy-efficient product heating solutions. Upon entering the market, the startup aims to bring its solution to heated products in the automotive and aviation industry, e.g., heated seats. The second target market is wearable heating, which includes heated gloves, heated shoes, and heated pain relievers.
The startup will invest the CHF 150,000 awarded by Venture Kick in making its heating mats market-ready. To do so, they will expand their team and scale up their production and manufacturing processes.
Alongside Murielle Schreck, who invented the technology and is the co-owner of the patent application, is Fabian Schmid, with whom she further developed the technology toward market readiness. Both have a background in materials science. Dr. Weyde Lin adds further technology and business know-how with his doctorate in Electrical Engineering from ETH Zürich and his experience from bootstrapped startups and as a consultant.
(Press release/RAN)
Photo L-R: qCella’s team: Weyde Lin (COO), Murielle Schreck (CEO), and Fabian Schmid (CTO)
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