Energy in Brainport.
A snapshot of the Eindhoven energy ecosystem: private startups & scaleups founded from 2010 onwards, still operational, with raised funding (equity, grants & debt — excluding exits and post-IPO rounds). Share relative to the entire Brainport ecosystem (139 funded companies).
Industrial impact, fossil-replacing.
RIFT
Iron Fuel Technology: iron powder as a circular, CO₂-free fuel for industrial heat. The first commercial installation at Swinkels (Bavaria) delivers steam from burnt iron; the residue (rust) is regenerated with green electricity.
Carbyon
TU/e spin-off. Ultra-fast Direct Air Capture based on activated carbon films — targeting a cost level below $100/ton CO₂. XPRIZE Carbon Removal finalist.
LionVolt
TNO/Holst spin-off. 3D solid-state battery architecture with thin-film lithium-metal anodes. Higher energy density and faster charging for wearables, IoT and EVs.
DENS
Mostly sells battery packs today, alongside its hydrozine (formic acid) liquid hydrogen-carrier platform. Emission-free power for construction sites, events and off-grid backup — proven at Lowlands and NS locations.
Taylor.
TU/e spin-off optimising solar yield with smart panel electronics; 45,000+ solar panels installed across the Netherlands.
Eleo Technologies (Helmond, battery packs for heavy equipment) was acquired by Yanmar Ventures in 2022. An exit doesn't count as capital raised, but it does prove that Brainport energy companies are attractive to international strategic buyers.
Smart charging, storage and green processes.
Tibo Energy
Software for smart charging and energy management in commercial fleets and SMBs. Combines dynamic tariffs, local generation and grid congestion signals into a single charging schedule.
Integer Technologies
Helmond-based hardware startup for energy-efficient power electronics. €1M seed round in 2025 from BOM, LUMO Labs and VP Capital — on top of earlier tickets from Brabant Startup Fund and Graduate Ventures.
Spark-nano
Atomic Layer Deposition equipment for high-efficiency solar cells and next-gen battery electrodes. Scales nano-coatings to industrial throughput.
Perovion
TNO spin-out (launched March 2026) commercialising perovskite solar cells with record-class stability. Based on the High Tech Campus Eindhoven, leveraging Solliance's roll-to-roll pilot lines for tandem and building-integrated PV modules.
RIFT — iron as a circular fuel.
Industrial heat (steam, process heat) accounts for roughly 20% of global CO₂ emissions and is hard to electrify. Natural gas remains the default — while green hydrogen is still years away.
RIFT burns iron powder. Combustion delivers high-temperature heat with zero CO₂. The residue is rust — regenerated back to iron elsewhere using green electricity. A closed, transportable energy cycle.
Not "someday green", but deployable today in existing steam boilers across breweries, food production and heavy process industry. TU/e roots, Brainport engineering, first commercial installation already running.
"Iron powder is the battery you can ship in a truck."— Team RIFT · TU/e Solid Combustion line
"Brainport stands out because collaboration here genuinely works. As a young company we experienced how quickly people are willing to think along and help each other forward. That has meant a lot for RIFT. At the same time, as a growing technology company you notice there is a difference between participating in the ecosystem and being seen as a mature counterpart. If Brainport can accelerate that step, a strong ecosystem becomes even stronger."
More than just local startups.
The numbers above count only companies headquartered in Brainport. But the region also plays an active role as a production, testing and knowledge location for energy innovation founded elsewhere. Four examples from 2024–2026:
Thorizon × VDL × DEMCON
Thorizon (Amsterdam/Lyon) is building a 100 MW molten-salt reactor that uses nuclear waste as fuel. The test centre is on the High Tech Campus Eindhoven; VDL Groep (Eindhoven) and DEMCON validate the manufacturability of critical components. Opened by European Commissioner Hoekstra in June 2026.
LeydenJar PlantOne
LeydenJar (HQ Leiden, TNO spin-out 2016, ~€75M raised including €30M EIB project financing in 2022 and two Late VC rounds in 2025–2026) chose Strijp-T in Eindhoven for its first 100% silicon-anode factory (PlantOne): 70 MWh capacity, +50% energy density, charging times under 12 minutes and 85% less CO₂ than graphite anodes. Production starts in 2026.
Zympler
Energy management software to tackle grid congestion for businesses. Founded by TU/e and Lightyear alumni (Jorrit Salverda, Tom Selten, Reinout de Jongh), HQ in Utrecht — but the DNA and talent come straight out of Brainport's solar-EV ecosystem.
EIRES — TU/e
The Eindhoven Institute for Renewable Energy Systems bundles research on the TU/e campus around hydrogen, batteries, heat storage and electrification.
Solliance
Solliance is the TNO / imec / TU/e / Holst Centre joint R&D programme for thin-film solar, headquartered on the High Tech Campus Eindhoven. It runs the pilot lines where startups like Perovion validate roll-to-roll perovskite coatings — the reason so many young PV companies anchor their first manufacturing step in Brainport.
Brainport isn't only a place where energy startups are founded — it's also where they build their first factory, get their prototypes tested by VDL and DEMCON, and where TU/e provides the scientific foundation through EIRES. That makes the ecosystem bigger than the 27 locally-headquartered scaleups you see above.
Student teams become scaleups.
What stands out about the Brainport energy ecosystem: 21 of the 26 active scaleups were founded after 2017, and a large group emerges directly out of TU/e student teams. Young founders who started on a prototype as students now lead companies with tens of millions on the balance sheet.
Team SOLID
Started in 2014 as a TU/e student team researching iron powder as a fuel. Built RIFT in 2020 — today €127M raised and the first commercial installation at Bavaria is running.
Team FAST
TU/e student team that built a bus running on formic acid (mierenzuur) as a liquid hydrogen carrier. Became DENS in 2018 — today mostly sells battery packs alongside its formic-acid platform, €12M raised, proven at Lowlands and NS locations.
Solar Team Eindhoven
The student team behind the Stella solar cars produced Lightyear's founders and a wider alumni network of energy founders — including WeHeat (heat pumps, founded by Solar Team alumni) and Zympler (2025) tackling grid congestion.
Team Energy
Eindhoven solar-panel optimisation and energy management for homes with PV, batteries and EVs. Founded in 2017 by Team Energy alumni from TU/e — 45,000+ solar panels installed and €12M total funding (incl. €8M from pension fund ABP).
Straight out of TU/e (2022)
Smart charging for SMBs and fleets, founded in 2022 by recent graduates. Within three years €9M raised and rollouts across commercial fleets throughout the Netherlands.
81% < 9 years old
21 of the 26 active energy scaleups were founded in 2018 or later. 8 of those in 2022 or later. The ecosystem is structurally fed by a younger generation — not by incumbents that "also do something sustainable".
Brainport has one peculiar pipeline you barely see in other regions: TU/e student teams (Team SOLID, Team FAST, Solar Team Eindhoven, InMotion, Team Polar) where students work full-time for a year on an energy prototype. Some of these continue as startups after the study project — often with the same young founders as CEO/CTO. That explains why Brainport energy is both so young and so technical.