Austrian company ecop has secured €10.5 million (approx. USD 11.3 million) in funding to scale production of its industrial heat pump technology. The investment round is led by German pump manufacturer KSB, with additional support from the European Innovation Council Fund (EICF), InnoEnergy, New Energy Technologies, Finadvice, and nearly all existing investors.
The funds will be used to expand ecop’s production capacity and prepare its new rotor design for series manufacturing. KSB, the lead investor, brings its experience in developing rotating systems to the partnership. The collaboration aims to accelerate deployment of industrial heat pumps, which play a role in reducing CO2 emissions in heat-intensive industrial sectors.
The EICF had previously granted ecop €2.5 million (approx. USD 2.7 million) under the EIC Accelerator programme in 2024. The fund continues to support the development and international rollout of ecop’s Rotation Heat Pump technology.
“The EIC Fund is proud to support ecop and its technology for industrial high-temperature heat pumps,” said Svetoslava Georgieva, Chair of the EIC Fund Board. “This solution provides a scalable means to modernize industrial heating processes that contribute significantly to global energy demand.”
Dr Stephan Timmermann, spokesperson for KSB’s management, added: “About two-thirds of industrial energy demand is for heat, so there is enormous decarbonisation potential here.”
Fabian Sacharowitz, CEO of ecop, stated: “With this financing round, we are sending a strong signal for the heat transition in industry and the district heating sector.”
CTO and founder Bernhard Adler highlighted the partnership’s technical value: “We are also gaining strong innovation partners with in-depth expertise who will provide us with targeted support in the further development of our technology.”