"Electricity, everywhere." The Valais-based start-up lives up to its name very, very well, given the ambitions it harbors with its technology, designed to meet the challenges of the transition to renewable energies.
Installed on the Energypolis campus in Sion, an imposing generator does not go unnoticed. The device is currently in a testing phase, an essential step for a Valais-based start-up with a noteworthy name: WattAnyWhere.
"Electricity, everywhere." The start-up lives up to its name, given the ambitions it harbors with its technology, designed to meet the challenges of the transition to renewable energies. "But if WattAnyWhere really wants to supply watts everywhere, it intends to produce them in a virtuous way," specifies Alexandre Laybros.
With his associates Didier Roux, Patrick Brennan, Philippe Ruez and Olivier De Bruijn, he is one of the co-founders of this start-up with an atypical path. "WattAnyWhere stands out because of the unconventional profile of its founders: seniors from industry who identified a niche market in the energy value chain," explains Eric Plan, secretary general of Cleantech ALPS.
"We had noticed that the grid was saturated in many regions and that electric companies no longer had additional capacity without having to undertake long and costly works," explains Alexandre Laybros.
For the five partners, business got serious at the end of 2020, during an energy conference in Lucerne. They attended after long reflection on the renewable energy sector and an in-depth analysis of the reports of the International Energy Agency (IEA), in order to determine how they could make their contribution. "We had noticed that the grid was saturated in many regions and that electric companies no longer had additional capacity without having to undertake long and costly works," explains Alexandre Laybros.
The purpose of their presence at the European Fuel Cell Forum (EFCF) was clear: to identify the best expertise in Europe in this field. They quickly turned to the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) to benefit from its recognized expertise in solid oxide fuel cells. "We needed it to make our ideas concrete and bring our generator to life," says Alexandre Laybros. An agreement was then reached between the entrepreneurs, Innosuisse, the EPFL and Valais, a canton that became strategic for the development of the future company.
Since its creation in 2021, the start-up has indeed established itself in Sion on the Energypolis campus. Over two decades, the site near the station has become a central hub for cleantechs in French-speaking Switzerland. It now hosts many start-ups aspiring to make a place for themselves in the field of renewable energies. "In this spirit of collaborative development, the Valais ecosystem checked all the boxes and motivated the team to set up on the Energypolis campus," rejoices Eric Plan.
At a time when batteries and backup generators in case of a widespread outage are constantly discussed, what is so revolutionary about the imposing generator? The answer is one word: ethanol. Unlike conventional installations running on gas, or sometimes hydrogen, WattAnyWhere's system manages to convert this liquid derived from biomass residues into electricity.
One of the main advantages of bioethanol is its density, almost similar to that of gasoline. "It is therefore easily storable and, unlike hydrogen, its current production is more than sufficient to meet needs — we are talking about 10 billion liters, or about 36 TWh," explains the co-founder of the Franco-Valais start-up.
Cherry on the cake, 92% of the material is transformed into water. Admittedly, it is demineralized water and therefore unfit for consumption, but it remains perfectly usable for many uses, such as sanitary facilities, data center cooling or even car washes at stations. "Our generator will be all the more valuable in regions affected by drought," emphasizes Patrick Brennan.
"WattAnyWhere presents promising prospects, provided it succeeds in its industrialization phase and its integration into existing value chains," explains Eric Plan, secretary general of Cleantech ALPS.
Between the first mock-up, made at the time in their premises at the EPFL, and the generator currently in the testing phase in Valais, the start-up has continuously improved its model. While the first version produced only 350 W, moving to a generator integrating ten fuel cells made it possible to reach a power of 12 kW. A current project with Shell, aiming for a capacity of 600 kW to 1 MW, shows that there remains significant potential for growth. "The advantage of containerized energy is that it is not only easily transportable, but also stackable," explains Alexandre Laybros.
Like certain renewable energies and in line with the Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) models promoted by the International Energy Agency, WattAnyWhere's generator responds to the current demand for low-cost, decentralized energy, available as close as possible to the consumer.
Without aiming to play the role of a Distribution System Operator (DSO), the start-up perceives its solution as support for the grid, a complementary offering aimed at making up for the limits of traditional actors, who have faced increasing pressures in recent years, particularly in winter.
Logically, rest areas and motorway service stations appear as a preferred destination for the generators developed by WattAnyWhere. These will allow electric vehicles to recharge their batteries simultaneously and at full power, without having to reinforce the electrical grid.
However, the five founders do not intend to stop there and are already considering many other applications for their technology. "Every location or industry remote from electrical grids or using storage batteries could represent a potential customer for us," explains Alexandre Laybros.
According to Eric Plan, WattAnyWhere presents promising prospects, "provided it succeeds in its industrialization phase and its integration into existing value chains."
The potential of WattAnyWhere is confirmed by the funds already raised. Since its creation, the start-up has already managed to raise funds totaling 5 million francs. During its last fundraising round, last summer, the start-up received support from Swiss investors, but also from others based in France, Norway, the Netherlands, the United States and several other countries. "These supports validate our approach to energy solutions and prepare the ground for significant future expansion," says Patrick Brennan.
In 2025, in order to continue improving its technology, to test it in the field and then reach the commercialization phase as quickly as possible, the start-up plans a Series A fundraising round.
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