Energy start-up ZIGRID's technology for extracting electricity from waste heat turns industries into their own electricity producers and reduces their carbon footprint. On March 1, a two-year EU project with €28 million in funding starts to make Zigrid ready for the market.
In September 2023, ZIGRID's unique technology was launched for the first time at a foundry in Västmanland. The company uses residual heat from industry, at between 50 and 100 degrees, to heat and expand a gas that then cools and shrinks again. The power of this cyclical movement is harnessed through hydraulics, which drives a generator and creates electricity. ZIGRID's technology differs from its competitors in that it does not use turbines and works down to 50 degrees.
The EU grant of EUR 2.5 million - about SEK 28 million - will be used to complete the pilot project, finalize product development and fine-tune the business model for commercial launch around 2026-2027. In addition to the grant, there is the possibility of further co-financing.
- The project will take us from having tests at customer sites to optimizing and quality assuring our product. We will break as much as possible and see how we can make it better," says Lars Birging, CEO and co-founder of ZIGRID.
Many benefits
The system is modular, with each unit having the capacity to produce around 20 kilowatts. An installation can have anything from three to several hundred units, taking both heat and cold from existing flows with minimal impact on 'mother industry'. ZIGRID is primarily aimed at process industries such as pulp and steel mills, but the emerging hydrogen industry is also highly interesting with large amounts of waste heat in the right temperature range. The benefits of Zigrid's technology are many.
- You can produce electricity with a very low carbon footprint at a competitive price. Both electricity prices and the upcoming EU requirements for energy recovery make it particularly interesting. In addition, the industry reduces the need to cool down its waste heat before it is released, which also saves money," says Lars Birging.
The electricity produced is 60 times cleaner than the EU average, and each 20 kilowatt-hour module saves around 40 tons of carbon dioxide that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere.
Programs to accelerate
The founders of ZIGRID have been developing their idea since 2015 and completed their first full-scale prototype two years ago. In 2023 and 2024, the company has participated in the BizMakers Forest Business Accelerator, a business development program that combines forest industry, sustainable solutions and digitalization.
- Even before the accelerator, we had direct contact with actors in the region through BizMaker. Everyone can talk about "networks", but not everyone can deliver contacts that are actually useful. This is where BizMaker has been very strong," says Lars Birging.
Not least RISE, which through RISE Processum participates in the program, has been a great support in both customer applications, technical maturity and support for applications, according to Lars Birging.
- Good theoretical content in the accelerator program and rewarding discussions with the other companies were the icing on the cake.
The future looks bright
Work is now beginning on completing the pilot, refining the technology and finding the right customers for launch and series production from 2026 onwards. The business model is based on an arrangement where ZIGRID operates the modules and charges for the supply of electricity, but in the long term Lars Birging sees that pure sales of the power modules will also be interesting. The long-term goal for ZIGRID is to have a larger installed volume by 2032.
- We have many stakeholders, what is most important for us now is to find potential customers to discuss the business model with - "what works best for us?", says Lars Birging.
What about the name? Of course, there is an idea there too.
- It stands for Zero Impact Grid. We want to contribute to an electricity grid with zero climate impact.
The Forest Business Accelerator is a collaboration between BizMaker, SCA, RISE and IBM.
Contact us
Lars Birging, CEO and co-founder, ZIGRID
070-362 06 21, lars.birging@zigrid.se
