More EU funds for Swiss start-up projects

The Horizon2020 EIC pilot aims to support top-class innovators, start-ups, small companies and researchers with bright ideas that are radically different from existing products, services or business models, are highly risky and have the potential to scale up internationally. The program will provide a total amount of around €3 billion throughout 2018-2020 to fund the most talented innovators and help their companies scale up and expand beyond European borders.

Some of the recently selected Swiss start-ups have confirmed the receipt of the grant. These include:

EBAMed SA – based in Geneva, is developing a non-invasive medical device for heart arrhythmia treatment which can be integrated into any existing radiation therapy machine and enables physicians to monitor heart movements automatically and in real-time. Its cardiac motion management product facilitates an out-patient procedure, as it does not require any hospitalisation or sedation.

The start-up has been awarded EUR 2.4 million in a non-dilutive grant by the Enhanced European Innovation Council (EIC). The funds will be used to develop its cardiac motion management product and to enable EBAMed to optimise the product’s hardware and software components, and to perform a first-in-human study which is planned to begin in 2021.

Vatorex – the Swiss agri-tech start-up received funds to the amount of 1.6 million euro for the development and implementation of its beekeeping platform and chemical-free varroa treatment technology. The patented varroa solution consists of an automated heat treatment technology, which destroys mite infestations without harming bees or contaminating bee products. Building upon the success of the varroa treatment, Vatorex has expanded its technology suite to include temperature and weight sensors, and a complete colony management app.

Scientific Visual – the Lausanne based start-up obtained of €2.4 million to accelerate the development of the next-generation raw crystal scanners involving all aspects of hardware, image processing, and data handling. The data aspect will include the development of cross-organisational data sharing. Scientific Visual’s technology allows seeing defects in the raw crystals before they enter costly processing chain. They recognise up to 96% of defective items and ensure that only quality material goes to the downstream stages. Defect recognition is fully automated and human-free, so it is trusted, and the root cause of failed crystal growth can be easily found.

Xsensio – the EPFL spin-off, has just been awarded CHF 1.8 million in EU funding to adapt its Lab-on-Skin™ sensing patches so that they can detect when a viral illness like the flu or COVID-19 is about to get worse.

Nanogence – aims to revolutionise the construction industry with its smart catalyst designed to reduce the cost of production and carbon footprint of cement. The company’s ‘ngCon’ catalyst innovation allows formulating new classes of sustainable cement capable of tuning the bulk physical properties of concrete during preparation while improving its performance. Nanogence has obtained a € 2.5 million grant along with an equity investment option of € 2.5 million from EIB  to accelerate its commercialisation of the technology.

(RAN)