The decarbonization of the planet can go through other solutions than the end of hydrocarbonsl’hydrogen or theelectricity…
This is the bet that Æternova is making, created in June 2023, entering the business incubator of Pertuis the 1is September 2024 and winner on November 14 of the “innovation challenge” of the 5th TechShow of Pays d’Aix Développement.
First prize at TechShow 2024
A prize which brings him 2,000 euros, awarded by Airbus Développement, and participation in TechInnovthe innovation business convention which will be held in Paris on March 27, 2025.
Alizée Arnold, its young president, engineer in agronomyco-founded the company with his father, and won the support of the jury of experts meeting in the Aix-en-Provence convention center. “We are working on technology that will contribute to the fight against global warming through the capture, storage, valorization and use of CO2, transformed into synthetic fuel or a chemical or energy product. We have proven the concept. We are now giving ourselves three years of R&D to arrive at an industrial prototype in 2028. We hope to establish collaborations with CY Cergy Paris University and then with Arts & Métiers d’Aix-en-Provence,” she explains.
Circular carbon economy
The company is already gathering some financial resources to progress in its research. It benefited from the Aix-Marseille-Provence Amorchage (AMPA) fund, the Bourse French Tech Emergence from Bpifrance and an honorary loan from CAAP Innov'Eco from Crédit Agricole Alpes-Provence.
A fundraising additional information is currently being discussed withprivate investors. “We want to achieve a circular carbon economy by recycling it infinitely as nature does. Everything would work in a closed cycle. The idea is to use our technology as a complement to hydrogen or electricity to supply modes of transport such as maritime or air”adds Alizée Arnold.
If there are any locks left technological to be lifted, Æternova clearly identifies the steps required to lead it towards its demonstrator. “There is a whole ecosystem to build around CO2 as a raw material” indicates Alizée Arnold, convinced that the ecological argument was one of the most striking to differentiate itself from the seven other competitors (Chargekeeper, Fluiidd, One Concept Marine, Opki, ChargingWorker, Tekshelf and V.RTu) among the members of the jury. “The societal and environmental impact was one of the selection criteria but also the quality of the innovation and the pitch” underlines Isabelle Corbin, director of PAD, recalling that everyone only had 8 minutes to make an impression.
Innovation with an industrial vocation
In the coming months, the company will expand in terms of scientist. She chose the Pertuis nursery for the possibility of having her own plant there in the future. atelier. The director of the structure, Frédéric Barlot, is delighted to see more and more industrial project holders seeking support from Pays d'Aix Développement.
He sees it as an encouraging prospect for the reindustrialization of the territory byinnovation. “The synergies of virtuous solutions are reshaping our technological future. Don’t hesitate to think big” confided Arnaud Mercier, in charge of innovation at the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis. “It is never easy to get started, but we received a lot of kindness from all those involved” welcomed Alizée Arnold when receiving the prize.
