Start-up EnerBee: awards help finance growth strategy

Grenoble-based EnerBee, founded in early 2014, has won three awards over the past few months: a national prize for innovative start-ups, a global innovation award, and a connected objects award.

The prize money supplements funds from investors and private-sector backers, giving EnerBee a total of €1 million to pursue plans to launch a pilot production run of 100 products for customer testing, hire five new employees (bringing the total to eleven at end-2014), and move from CIME Nanotech to new offices at MINATEC Entreprises building.

Giving button batteries a run for their money

EnerBee’s technology, developed at G2Elab and Leti, consists of a miniature generator that uses movement—even very slow—to produce electricity. When coupled with an energy storage module, the generator can be used to power connected objects, replacing traditional batteries. EnerBee is now working to slim down its product’s form factor, which still needs to be reduced fivefold to compete with button batteries, a market that represents 30 billion units per year globally.

In addition to bringing in additional funds for EnerBee’s growth strategy, the recent awards also raised the young company’s profile, garnering interest from potential investors and manufacturing partners. The company has also been raking in the leads since unveiling its technology eighteen months ago in Germany. EnerBee has already sold its first prototypes and plans to introduce its products on the market within the next year.

Contact: pierre@enerbee.fr

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