As we ring in the new year, we look back on what an amazing 2022 we had. Multiple new startups were officially launched, some of our brilliant entrepreneurs took home awards and the impact of our northern startup ecosystem continued to grow! We’ve also had the opportunity to take a look behind the scenes at some of our promising participations. Just to make it easy for you, we’ve put it all in one place. Here’s our recap of 2022!
Sit-downs
This year, we had the amazing opportunity to take a look behind the scenes at some of our promising participations. We talked to some amazing entrepreneurs about their startup, their team and the future. Take a look at some of them below:
Arc Ventures
Three AI students, successfully launching their product from scratch in less than 2 years. Although it sounds like some kind of fairy tale, it is the success story of Arc Ventures. The three founders of the company, Niclas, Tom and Moritz, got together and started working on their first prototypes halfway through 2019. One and a half years filled with hard work and dedication followed, resulting in the launch of their first product early 2021: the Arc Pulse.
Arc Ventures’ motto says it all: ‘reshaping technology interaction’. Too often, the way we experience our devices is far from perfect. The company aims to improve everyday life by reinventing the way people interact with their technology. It is time to take a step back and start valuing the feel, look and aesthetics of our devices again; and Arc Ventures is leading the charge.
Read the interview with co-founders Niclas Bertelsen and Tom Theuer here!
SG Papertronics
A few years ago, two PhD-students finished their research at the University of Groningen after which they were looking for a product-market fit. One of those researchers, Maciej Grajewski, initially met the other founder, Richard Rushby, at the VentureLab North weekend back in 2019, where they decided to take SG Papertronics B.V. forward as a company. Having analyzed multiple sectors, the craft beer industry came up as the best target market for the launch of their device. More than two years have passed, and they haven’t exactly been sitting still.
Read the interview with COO/CMO Richard Rushby here!
Foamplant
What started with just 3 people in a garage back in 2017 has grown into a 5000 square meters factory in Groningen, fully equipped with high-tech machinery. Foamplant produces the perfect alternative to conventional foams: circular, sustainable and biodegradable foam, ready for the future. When asked what initiated the start of Foamplant, Martin replied: “Foamplant is driven by the thought that with enough creativity, effort and knowledge, everything can be made sustainable and in a sustainable way”. The company continuously strives for open creativity, where the sky’s the limit. Now, with a thoroughly motivated team of about 40 people, that same garage-mindset remains one of the core values of the company. The possibilities are endless, and Foamplant is ready to take on the world.
Read the interview with CEO Martin Tietema here!
Sencilia B.V.
Tiny, sensitive sensors replacing big, bulky and most of all costly equipment at a lower price? Impossible? Not according to Sencilia. Using an innovative fish-inspired technology, Sencilia harbors the vision of realizing ‘smart’ hospital wards by automating flow management in ICU’s with the aim of reducing intravenous dosage errors. This improves the accuracy of fluid balance in critical care patients, reduces the risk of adverse drug events that occur due to IV over/under dosage, and mitigates nurse workload by automating tedious measurements. Almost exactly a year after the start of Sencilia, we had a quick sit-down with Dr. Amar Kamat, co-founder and managing director of the promising Groningen-based startup.
Read the interview with co-founder and managing director dr. Amar Kamat here!
Other remarkable milestones
Marijn van Rooij wins Prins Friso Ingenieursprijs
Marijn won the award thanks to his amazing work on the Ocean Battery. The Ocean Battery is a scalable, modular system, placed on the bottom of the ocean near renewable energy sources such as wind turbines and solar farms. The Ocean Battery is an efficient and sustainable way to store energy right at the production site. As no scarce materials are needed for the production of the battery, the system is ecologically sound, also forming a habitat on the ocean floor using its structure. The system will be certified and ready for operation in 2023.
Official opening of ICE building
On the 24th of March, the Innovation Center Chemistry and Engineering (ICE) was officially opened. The Innovation Center contributes to growth and development in the areas of Chemistry and Engineering and facilitates cross-pollination and knowledge-sharing among companies housed in the building. Companies like CLiQ SwissTech AG, DEMCON, MOOHA and Symeres moved in late 2021 together with the open innovation labs Innolab Chemistry and Innolab Engineering. The ICE now also houses multiple chemistry- and engineering-related startups like SG Papertronics B.V. and Deep Atlas. The top floor of the ICE is dedicated to the Space Werkcafé, a hospitality hub offering not only fresh meals and refreshments, but also flex work spaces and meeting rooms.
Read more about the ICE building here!
EV Biotech among top 37 most promising climate-tech startups
EV Biotech is among the 37 most promising climate-tech startups according to top VCs, as mentioned in the article of Business Insider! EV Biotech combines data-driven predictive algorithms with strain design and development, allowing them to develop strains more cost-effectively, increase the successful output, and reduce time to market.
“EV Biotech has the potential to propel the whole bio-manufacturing world forward” – Lea Bajc (Blue Horizon)
Read the entire article here!
Foamplant launches moorefoam
With the world shifting from a conventional, single-use mindset to a sustainable, circular economy, foam is one of the last raw production materials to make the transition to a recyclable alternative. Compared to normal polyurethane foams, Moorefoam® is soft, flexible and open foam. The foam is also thermoplastic, so at the end of its lifetime, the foam can be reused for new, sustainable products. Even when the foam is not returned correctly, the foam is fully biodegradable. Through repeatedly reusing Moorefoam®, manufacturers can achieve 90% CO2 reduction and vastly reduce their operations’ carbon footprint and achieve their sustainability goals. Moorefoam® is available to order now, with initial deliveries in mid-April 2023.
Read the entire article here!
Ocean Grazer goes to sea
Oranje Wind Power II, a subsidiary of RWE, wins the permit for the construction and exploitation of the new windpark ‘Dutch Coast (west)’ lot VII. Lot VII is one of the two lots in the windpark. The windpark will be good for about 6% of the current electricity usage in The Netherlands. The winning innovative system integration concept includes the Ocean Battery from Ocean Grazer, balancing the power grid and facilitating the production of green hydrogen.
Read the entire article here!
The best is yet to come. From all of us at RUG Ventures, we wish you all the best for 2023!