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SpinDrive, the Finnish cleantech company leading the charge in frictionless magnetic bearing technology, has successfully raised €3.8 million in Series A funding. This landmark achievement was orchestrated by Rhapsody Venture Partners, a prominent U.S.-based investor specializing in hardware companies. Innovestor from Finland and Born2Grow from Germany also played pivotal roles in this exciting funding round.
Industrial machinery relies heavily on bearings, but they come with their own set of challenges. Traditional bearings demand regular maintenance, consume substantial quantities of oil, and tend to compromise machinery efficiency. SpinDrive, with its innovative solution, tackles these issues head-on.
Nikita Uzhegov, COO and Co-founder of SpinDrive, acknowledges the need for more than just mechanical bearings. "We have seen increasing international demand for more energy efficiency and cleaner solutions in industrial production," Uzhegov emphasized. "We are excited to build SpinDrive to meet those customer needs with our active magnetic bearing systems and controllers."
SpinDrive's magnetic bearings provide a frictionless and superior alternative to conventional bearing systems. By employing magnetic levitation, these bearings ensure zero contact between rotating and stationary components, completely eliminating friction.
The result is a SpinDrive bearing that can offer up to twenty years of maintenance-free operation, a stark contrast to traditional bearings that typically need replacement every twelve to eighteen months, resulting in costly downtime. Additionally, SpinDrive provides comprehensive machine monitoring and predictive maintenance, potentially reducing maintenance costs by over 80%.
Furthermore, SpinDrive's bearings eliminate the need for oil-based lubrication, addressing environmental concerns. EU factories currently consume five million tons of lubricants annually, leading to leakage and contamination risks. SpinDrive's oil-free bearings mitigate these risks and open new markets where contamination-free processing is paramount, such as the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, semiconductor, and hydrogen-based production sectors.
SpinDrive's bearings also translate to significant energy savings. Their technology can achieve up to a 15% reduction in energy consumption. Given that industrial motors account for 46% of the world's electricity consumption, this represents a substantial step toward sustainability. Janne Heikkinen, CEO and Co-founder of SpinDrive, emphasized this point, saying, "We often get stuck thinking about technologies like carbon capture when it comes to CO₂ emissions. By improving energy efficiency in existing and new machinery, we tackle the problem in a massive area and provide a significant impact." The company has set an ambitious target of reducing 500 million tons of CO₂ annually by 2050 through efficiency enhancements.
Carsten Boers, Managing Partner at lead investor Rhapsody Venture Partners, is convinced that SpinDrive is positioned to transform the sector. "SpinDrive's system is much cheaper and better than anything else in the market," Boers stated. "We are excited to partner with the team and help grow SpinDrive internationally."
The global bearing industry, with a current worth of €120 billion, spans applications such as turbo blowers, compressors, expanders, process machinery, flywheels, and energy recovery systems. High rotational speeds, enabled by frictionless operation, offer significant energy efficiency improvements in gas transfer and compression processes, minimizing energy losses.
With €8 million raised to date and a growing presence in factories worldwide, SpinDrive is actively improving industrial efficiency. The company's plans for product expansion and market penetration, both within and beyond existing domains, underscore their dedication to industrial progress and climate change mitigation.
