Emost: The Venture Leader Cleantech providing customized, reliable, and cost-effective energy solutions

02.10.2024 17:00, Rita Longobardi

Meet Benedikt Domke, CEO of Emost. The Cleantech startup provides tailored, environmentally friendly, and efficient energy solutions for reliable, quiet power anytime and anywhere. In November, Benedikt and the other nine Swiss National Cleantech Team members will travel to Munich on a business development and investor roadshow.

Name: Benedikt Domke
Location: Dietikon, Zürich, Switzerland
Nationality: German    
Graduated from: MSc University of St. Gallen
Job title: CEO & Co-Founder
Number of employees: 11
Money raised: CHF 3 million (CHF1.2 Equity, CHF 1.8 Debt)




Can you tell us who your product or solution helps, and how?
Our emost Butler S and M provide energy beyond the grid or at the edge of the grid – quiet, efficient, easy to use and without exhaust. Our many targets are four use-cases: 1. As energy transport e.g. for tunnel refurbishment, where the Butlers power the equipment during the night and charge during the day while traffic is flowing. 2. As grid boost, to run big applications like a crane on existing, but too weak grids like single-phase home grids. 3. As a “Fuel Saver” with the existing diesel generator infrastructure, reducing idle time and increasing efficiency while enabling down-sizing. 4. As an uninterruptable power supply for important applications like pumps or ovens on fairs.  

What market are you addressing and what is the potential of your startup in that market?
We are replacing Diesel Generators as well as temporary grids. We estimate the Serviceable Addressable Market at EUR 18.3 bn, thereof EUR 14.3 bn for Generator replacement and EUR 4 bn for temporary grid replacement. 

How and where did you come up with the idea for your startup?
The idea was born within Axpo. As we saw that green energy was available on the grid, we asked ourselves, what applications beyond the grid could look like. The trigger to develop something was a client request for a construction site close to a settlement, where Diesel generators were no option. At the same time, the grid was too weak to power a crane. 6 months later a POC existed, 4 years later a market-ready unit existed and emost was created in a management buy-out. 

What do you expect from the Venture Leaders Cleantech roadshow, and how will it help you achieve your vision?
Our main focus is to get to know investors – for the current as well as future raise rounds. At the same time, we would be interested in meeting large construction companies or rental companies. To change the world, it is important to build an ecosystem around our solution. So I’m also excited to meet the other participants to see if we can work together. 

What are your team’s key achievements to date?
We have two products – the Butler S and M – in the market together with a working IoT solution. On the client side, we closed some blue-chip names, including an OEM contract with Wacker Neuson, a successful POC leading to a frame contract with Deutsche Bahn, and advanced talks with Roggermaier and Swecon. At the same time, we build a great team of people getting the magic done. 

What is the most challenging and rewarding aspect of being a founder?
You are responsible for everything. It’s your decision that makes the business great or makes the business fail. No one to hide behind, no one to blame. Getting the tradeoff between speed to market, happy clients, happy shareholders and a happy team right is a balancing act, that is rewarding to see, if you nailed it, and bittersweet, if you pushed too hard on one of the components. 

What is the most important lesson you have learned as a founder?
Cash is king. And time is cash spent. 

What is your favourite productivity hack/tool and why?
The booking link is in Outlook. It saves an assistant and keeps the calendar well-managed. 

What was your dream job when you were a child?
In kindergarten, I wanted to become a retired person because they had time to spend on all the meaningful tasks without the pressure of someone telling them what exactly to do. Growing up that changed to the wish to become a ski instructor in winter and a sailing boat transfer captain in summer. Both jobs have team responsibility in common. Only later, in University, I realized that everything we do is only possible because our ancestors have built infrastructure (for most people the most boring topic in the world) for hundreds of years. Supercharging the way we as humans can do things enticed me ever since.