Munich Startup: What does your startup do? What problem do you solve?
Justairtech: We are developing a refrigeration system that uses air as a coolant, saving 80 percent of energy compared to conventional systems. The problem with cooling is that it is necessary for many processes, but due to its high energy consumption and CO2e emissions, it itself contributes massively to global warming. The same applies to heating and air conditioning. Our solution is a building block for achieving climate neutrality in Europe by 2050 and keeping global warming in check.
Economical use of air as a refrigerant through innovations
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Justairtech: That's true – air has long been used as a refrigerant, but until now, it has rarely been used economically. Currently, there is no refrigeration or air conditioning system on the market that uses air as a refrigerant. Only in the area of freezing does a Czech startup offer a solution. We are achieving the economical use of air as a refrigerant through several innovations. The two core components are two highly efficient and low-pressure-loss heat exchangers with a novel, fractal design. They are additively manufactured and, thanks to their very fine helical structure, have many times the surface area of a conventional heat exchanger. Our refrigeration system will be 4–5 times more efficient than comparable state-of-the-art systems.
Munich Startup: What is your founding story?
Justairtech: Holger initially focused on water cooling. His previous startup, Efficient Energy, developed a chiller that cools with water—but achieves roughly twice the efficiency of previous chillers. However, they underestimated the potential: They wanted to develop the system and purchase components from industry. However, industry had no experience with steam in a rough vacuum, so they had to develop the components themselves. And that simply took too long and was too expensive.
So he thought of something else, got some air – and together with Jens Justairtech Jens and Holger knew each other from Efficient Energy and knew that, with their very different profiles and skills, they would make a good founding team.
From prototype to market readiness: challenges and next steps
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Justairtech: Our biggest challenge was the implementation of the 3D-printed heat exchangers in the 25 kW version. In 2021, we needed 19 days of printing time for a small section of the heat exchanger – making economic production a long way off. The main reason for this was the very fine and complex structures, which require very specific parameter sets for printing and also involve a huge amount of data to be transferred. Together with EOS, we were able to complete this in two years.
We've successfully completed our development cooperation and can now print the 25 kW heat exchangers in approximately 24 hours. Installed in the first system prototype, we can now demonstrate that the overall system concept works.
Munich Startup: Where would you like to be in one year, where in five years?
Justairtech: We plan to install two ß-Test systems in data centers within a year, and then start field testing later that year. Our market entry and ramp-up will take place in the next five years – until then, we still have some development work and further team building ahead of us. We're initially focusing on data centers, but will then expand into precision cooling, process cooling, and later heating and air conditioning.
Munich offers mainly for young teams
Munich Startup: How have you experienced Munich as a startup location so far?
Justairtech: There are many great opportunities for founders here – however, they're mostly aimed at very young teams, and we have two very experienced founders, so to be honest, we hardly take advantage of any of them. The university network is obviously beneficial to us, both in terms of collaboration opportunities and in terms of graduates in technical fields.
Munich Startup: Risk or security?
Justairtech: Risk is inherent in any completely new technological development. However, we have now been able to eliminate many of them, and for the remaining ones, we have strategies for mitigating them and what we do if they occur.
On the other hand, we are very happy with security in terms of personnel and financing, so we can happily do without the thrill.
