Munich Startup: Who are you and what does Electrochaea do? Please introduce yourselves briefly!
Doris Hafenbradl, Electrochaea: We are Mich Hein and Doris Hafenbradl, together we run the business at Electrochaea. Mich was one of the founders of CompanyI joined the company in 2015 and am the Technical Director. We had already worked for several years in research, in scientific clusters and at management level in various companies. Mich has a doctorate in plant physiology and analytical chemistry – so he is an expert when it comes to all chemical and physical processes in plants. Mich has also founded and led several companies to success. I have a doctorate in microbiology and specialize in archaea, microorganisms that are very important to us. Before joining Electrochaea, I developed ideas from the laboratory to the product for various companies and developed concepts for spin-outs. We met in Munich because Electrochaea moved from the USA to Denmark and then to Germany. At the time, there were better opportunities for financing for cleantech companies like Electrochaea here. The reason: people were looking for storage solutions for the increasing amount of energy from wind and solar. Simply storing electricity is only possible for the short term and in small quantities. The archaea, on the other hand, can convert this electricity into climate-neutral gas via an intermediate step, electrolysis, which can be stored in very large quantities and for a very long time. A huge advantage.
Munich Startup: What problem are you solving?
Doris Hafenbradl: Electrochaea is changing the way energy is supplied and solving several challenges at once. Our technology enables us to store energy from renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, and water, for very long periods of time and in very large quantities – this is especially important when more climate-friendly energy is produced than can be consumed. This allows us to balance supply and demand.
At the same time, we utilize and reuse emitted CO2, for example, from factories and sewage treatment plants – the technical term for this is carbon capture and utilization. For this purpose, we use archaea in bioreactors. One example: Hydrogen is produced from wind energy through electrolysis. This hydrogen, plus the CO2 emitted from a factory, is converted into climate-neutral gas – other terms for this gas are green gas, green methane, and synthetic natural gas – an important climate-neutral alternative to natural gas. Fossil natural gas must first be extracted, often causes environmental damage during extraction, and additional CO2 is emitted through combustion. Our gas, on the other hand, is much more climate-friendly and sustainable thanks to CO2 recycling and is an important component of a sustainable circular economy.
Another advantage: We can utilize existing pipelines and storage facilities from the natural gas infrastructure by simply filling the vast gas grids with our climate-friendly gas. This is particularly interesting for grid operators, as it allows us to make the grid significantly greener. Our gas can also be used effectively for the processing and production of fuels.
Electrochaea: “The reckoning comes through global warming”
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Doris Hafenbradl: Archaea and their metabolic properties have actually existed for around 3.5 billion years. They can't really get much older than that. But joking aside: It wasn't until the 1970s that archaea were first recognized and described as an independent life form – before that, they were thought to be a kind of primordial bacteria. Since then, various species of archaea have been used in a wide variety of ways, in medicine and nanotechnology – but our technology is unique and one of a kind, and has been patented multiple times. Our team has succeeded in breeding and selecting archaea in such a way that they are particularly robust and efficient. What started in a laboratory with a 5-liter vessel has now been scaled up to the point where, with our partners, we aim to produce more than 15 billion cubic feet of our gas per year by 2025.
Munich Startup: Has there ever been a point where you almost failed?
Doris Hafenbradl: Two or three years ago, we considered whether our technology might be coming too soon. If the costs of CO2 emissions aren't properly factored in, fossil fuels like oil, natural gas, or coal always seem cheaper in the short term. But the price will be felt by everyone due to global warming, and unfortunately, it will certainly be higher than any of us can imagine. But that's precisely why we started this process. We have to be able to tolerate such calculations and comparisons, which we consider to be very naive and ultimately irresponsible.
Furthermore, our technology connects various energy sectors – traffic and transport, heat, storage, electricity, renewable energies – and for such a cross-sector technology, although urgently needed, the appropriate modern laws have often not yet been passed. Here, it's important not to bury our heads in the sand, but to look at where the right fit is, who is innovative, who is thinking five, ten, fifteen years ahead – this is one of the reasons why we have recently become very active in the USA and are collaborating with SoCalGas, one of the largest gas suppliers in the USA, and with Baker Hughes, one of the world's largest energy technology companies.
“Munich and Bavaria are known and appreciated by almost everyone around the globe”
Munich Startup: Where would you like to be in one year, where in five years?
Doris Hafenbradl: We are currently in the process of further expanding our international business and, as already mentioned, together with our partners, we will produce around 15 billion cubic feet of our gas annually by 2025.
Munich Startup: How do you rate Munich as a startup location?
Doris Hafenbradl: Munich and the surrounding area, including Planegg, are very attractive locations to live and work in. Especially for us as a growing company looking to advertise and fill numerous positions, the surrounding area is a huge advantage. Munich and Bavaria are known and appreciated by almost everyone around the world.
Munich Startup: Risk or security?
Doris Hafenbradl: A certain willingness to take risks is necessary for us to progress personally, as a society, and as a species. It's important to step out of your comfort zone if you want to create something new and solve challenges. Anything else would be stagnation—and for us scientists, that's not a good future strategy. However, willingness to take risks doesn't mean you should just stumble into something blindly. Preparation, strategy, and experience are equally important.
