For the transition to renewable energy to succeed, periods of low electricity generation from wind or solar energy must be bridged. Energy storage plays a central role in this. With the Sprind Challenge “Long-Duration Energy Storage”, the Federal Agency for Leap Innovations supports startups working on exactly such solutions.
The innovation competition, which started in July 2022, supports teams with different solution strategies in parallel. In the now-completed first phase, five startups were each supported with 1 million euros. Four of them are now advancing to the second phase, in which they will receive an additional three million euros, including Reverion from Munich.
Reverion’s solution
Reverion develops power plants that achieve an efficiency of up to 80 percent when converting biogas to electricity. But above all, the small power plants are distinguished by their ability to run “backwards” (reversibly). This means they can generate and store renewable natural gas substitutes or green hydrogen from a temporary surplus of wind and solar power.
Building on this biogas conversion technology, the team plans to scale up its prototype to a size that is relevant for industrial use as part of the Sprind Challenge. In the second phase of the challenge, Reverion is now testing the technology particularly for seasonal energy storage.
Jano Costard, Challenge Officer at the Federal Agency for Leap Innovations Sprind, explains:
“Energy storage is essential for the energy transition. However, we need new and better technologies for this. With the Sprind Challenge, we have created an effective innovation competition. This allows us to help promising technologies break through for which there is not yet sufficient private venture capital. By linking continued funding in the second phase of the Sprind Challenge to intermediate results, we create competition among teams and ensure that the most promising technologies and teams receive investment.”
In addition to Sprind funding, Reverion can also rely on strong support from investors. The startup received €8.5 million at the beginning of this year from UVC Partners, Green Generation Fund, Extantia Capital, and Doral Energy-Tech Ventures. Biomethane trader Landwärme also participated in this round. In summer 2022, the Munich-based company raised seven million euros. Additionally, Reverion receives €12 million in research funding for further development of the systems. The startup is a spin-off from Technische Universität München and participated in the Xpreneurs incubation program at UnternehmerTUM.
