- Headquartered in France, Andrei Klochko Ph.D and Franck Lahaye founded Airthium in March 2016.
- Airthium builds heat engines that allow the industry and the electrical grid to stop polluting at scale in a cost-effective way.
- The company's heat engines transform electricity into heat and vice versa, enabling users to access multi-purpose applications as a cheaper alternative to the use of natural gas in industrial heating and has to potential to remove carbon dioxide emissions.
Picture a world where industrial processes no longer rely on fossil fuels, where energy storage is both efficient and affordable, and where the heat required for manufacturing doesn’t contribute to climate change.
This is the vision driving Airthium, a Paris-based company founded in 2016 by innovators Andrei Klochko and Franck Lahaye.
With their sights set on decarbonizing industries, Airthium is not just imagining this world—they’re building it.
Breakthrough Innovations in Heat and Energy
Airthium's journey began with a simple but ambitious goal: to create technology that could significantly reduce industrial carbon footprints.
Their flagship product, a high-temperature heat pump, is the game-changer. Traditional heat pumps max out at around 120°C, but Airthium's can reach an impressive 600°C.
This leap in capability opens new possibilities for sectors like cement, steel, and glass manufacturing, which require extreme heat to function.
By providing a clean, efficient alternative, Airthium is helping these industries shift away from fossil fuels.
But Airthium didn’t stop there. They also developed a cutting-edge energy storage solution, rooted in the Carnot battery concept.
This system not only slashes the costs associated with traditional lithium-ion batteries but also offers a scalable way to store energy on a grid level.
It’s a bold step forward in the quest for sustainable energy storage, proving that innovation can indeed drive the transition to a greener future.
Fueling Growth Through Strategic Investment
Airthium’s pioneering approach has attracted the attention of major investors. The company participated in Y Combinator’s Winter 2020 batch, providing them with essential early-stage funding and valuable connections to a global network of advisors and partners committed to clean technology.
Since then, Airthium has raised a total of $5.3 million over five funding rounds, with significant contributions from venture capital firms like Daphni and EREN Groupe.
"The idea for Airthium germinated in 2008 when I became aware of a technology at the crossroads of fluid mechanics and electromagnetism, but it wasn’t until I had completed my thesis at the Plasma Physics Laboratory at X that I was able to apply it to energy storage by working on the design of a new type of gas compressor.
In 2014, when we won the Gérondeau – Safran prize and the Concours mondial de l’innovation de Bpifrance, I realized that our project had convinced people and I realized its full potential. I then devoted myself to it full-time, and Airthium was officially created in March 2016," said Andrei Klochko.
Forging Powerful Partnerships
In the quest for a sustainable future, collaboration is key. Airthium understands this well and has forged strategic partnerships with some of the most influential organizations in the energy and manufacturing sectors.
One such partnership is with a leading European utility company, which is piloting Airthium’s heat pumps in several of its facilities.
The success of these pilots could pave the way for widespread adoption across Europe, reducing carbon emissions and lowering energy costs for industries on a massive scale.
Edited By Annette George
