Leuven, Belgium: 1 September 2021 — Qpinch, a Belgian scale-up that supplies industrial heat pumps to the chemical, petrochemical and food industry has attracted € 10 million of growth equity from FPIM-SFPI and Capricorn Partners. Qpinch solutions have been developed to massively cut the industry’s energy bill and reduce its CO2 output significantly. At Capricorn both the Capricorn Sustainable Chemistry Fund and Quest for Growth invested the Antwerp-based scale-up. The Port of Antwerp and a large group of existing shareholders pre-seeded the capital increase with € 4 million through a pre-closing finance.

Mimicking nature to make huge steps forward in industrial energy efficiency and CO2 reduction.

The revolutionary Qpinch technology imitates the natural chemical reactions that take place in all living cells in the so-called ATP/ADP cycle (in case ATP refers to adenosine triphosphate, and ADP to adenosine diphosphate). By using a chemical process to raise the temperature of waste heat, the Qpinch technology provides a heat lift for waste heat that could otherwise not be utilised. Unlike the use of conventional heat pumps, this closed-loop process minimises operational costs as well as electricity use. The technology is scalable from one to >50 megawatts (MW) and is therefore able to process enormous levels of industrial waste heat, enabling a quantum leap in energy efficiency and CO2 for large industrial processes. Since its start-up, the heat recovery demonstration unit has been testing the capabilities of the Qpinch technology with view to scaling it up for use in different industrial processes, helping its customers to reach its 2030 goals. The technology is applicable in a wide range of heavy industries: going from oil refineries, petrochemical till food & feed.

The company can show an impressive track record. SABIC Ventures, the investment arm of the SABIC petrochemical group is a strategic partner and investors since 2018. Up to date, Qpinch has delivered its first MW installations to Borealis and Kuraray (EVAL) in Antwerp, and has signed several strategic collaboration agreements with Boortmalt, the largest group of malteries in the world and Chiyoda Corporation, a large engineering and construction company, to commercialize the Technology in Japan

With € 14 million of fresh equity, Qpinch will be able to strengthen its commercial team, enlarge its engineering capacity and serve new markets.

For further reading, please go to Capricorn’s or Qpinch’s website