Albotherm, a University of Bristol spin-out company developing passive cooling technologies to reduce energy usage in Agriculture and the Building (Construction / Architecture) sector, announced today the completion of a £370k ($500k) seed funding round.
The funding will support the development of Albotherm’s Variable Shading System, a temperature responsive glass coating that reflects sunlight and significantly reduces the energy required to cool agricultural, domestic, and commercial buildings, which is expected to reach 13% of global energy by 2050.
Albotherm’s coatings transition reversibly from clear to white at a tunable temperature to prevent excess solar gains in hot weather. This helps to regulate the temperature of surfaces and structures without the need for energy input. This funding round was led by Sustainable Ventures, with funds provided by Seedrs.
Albotherm is led by two female founders, Molly Allington (CEO) and Dr Sian Fussell (CTO), recent graduates of the University of Bristol. Molly Allington, CEO at Albotherm says, “We are thrilled to have closed our first funding round and to have secured the right advisors to support us as we grow. The support of Dr Ben Miles and the whole Spin Up Science Ventures (SUSV) team has been instrumental in our success so far and will be an integral part of our mission to reduce carbon emissions and improve food security globally.”
SUSV is a pre-incubation program designed to support academic teams to spinout technologies with the potential to improve the health and security of people and the planet. SUSV works alongside founders from initial idea to first investmentment, to develop entrepreneurial skills, discover market need, and launch spinout ventures.
Dr Ben Miles, CEO and Founder of Spin Up Science saiys, “We’ve been working with Sian and Molly since 2018 through our Academy programs to support scientists with developing their entrepreneurial and leadership skills. They impressed us from the beginning, and to get the opportunity to work with them through our Ventures program and help them launch a company and secure investment has been a privilege. We are incredibly excited to continue to support them through the journey ahead.”
SUSV has been working closely with Albotherm to help guide the team through spinning out and raising investment.
For more information on Albotherm, check out their website here. And you can find more information on Spin Up Science Ventures here.
Shona Wright
Shona covers all things editorial at TechSPARK. She publishes news articles, interviews and features about our fantastic tech and digital ecosystem, working with startups and scaleups to spread the word about the cool things they're up to.
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