Scale up Bootcamp lays the foundation for a sustainable partnership between Enerdrape and AMAG

17.05.2022 18:00, Tracy Woodley

The Scale up Bootcamps provide startups with access to Swiss industry leaders to help accelerate growth. Margaux Peltier, co-founder and CEO of Enerdrape, and Stefan Rüssli of AMAG participated in a Scale up Bootcamp earlier last year. During their 15-minute meeting, the two identified a promising pilot site for Enerdrape's technology at one of AMAG's assets. Read our interview with Margaux to learn more about their meeting that led to a dynamic collaboration that aims to improve energy efficiency in Switzerland.

The Scale up Bootcamps connect startups with Swiss industry leaders: In half-day matchmaking events, selected startups meet with hand-picked representatives of leading corporations in their vertical. During the exclusive one-on-one sessions, the entrepreneurs can set up unique business development opportunities such as pilot projects, partnerships, and investments.

Earlier this year, Enerdrape co-founder and CEO Margaux Peltier participated in a Scale up Bootcamp for startups advancing Sustainability, Circular Economy, and Cleantech, where she met with Roland Weippert, Head of Venture Operations at AMAG, the largest automotive company in Switzerland. For Margaux and Roland, the meeting served as the continuation of a fruitful partnership. 

Margaux, could you tell us what Enerdrape does?
Enerdrape develops the world's first thermal panel of underground, a technology that allows to turn underground environments such as parking garages into renewable energy suppliers for the heating and cooling needs of buildings.  

You met Stefan Rüssli from AMAG at a Scale up Bootcamp last year. Why did you participate in the Scale up Bootcamp?
We participated in the Scale up Bootcamp to first present and test our solution to corporations with ambitious environmental goals, our objective was to develop a collaboration and use case together. 

How do the bootcamps bring startups and corporations together? 
For us it was during COVID, the bootcamp was held virtually, we had the chance to pitch our startup and solution to all the corporations present at the bootcamp. After that, some one-to-one meeting of 15 to 20 min were pre-scheduled in order to present further our solution to key corporates, discuss about potential use-cases and initiate collaborations. 

How did your story/partnership continue after the initial meeting? 
After the initial meeting, Stefan gets us in touch with the right contact internally, Roland Weippert, Head of Venture Operations at AMAG, and interest was validated among different departments, and collaboration started. Identification of the most promising pilot site among AMAG's assets was discussed and evaluated.

What does the future hold for the collaboration?
We are now developing a pilot implementation of the technology in one of AMAG’s subsidiaries. A 100 panels will be installed in an underground garage and will contribute to both increasing the renewable energy share of the assets and the reduction of their building energy related CO2 emissions.

What advice do you have for startups that want to attend a Scale up Bootcamp?
It is a great opportunity to start a collaboration and develop a specific business case with a corporate. The experience will help you to better understand the inner workings of the system and allow you to optimize your processes for the future. My advice would be to have a clear idea and proposition of what you want from the corporate and what you can bring them. When we participate our objective was not only to present our innovation but also to acquire a first adopter of the technology to develop a pilot with.



The Scale up Bootcamps are organized by digitalswitzerland, Gebert Rüf Stiftung, and Venturelab powered by Venture Kick.

The Scale up Bootcamps 2022
The eight Scale up Bootcamps in 2022 will focus on innovative solutions that advance mobility, smart city, IoT, robotics, automation, sustainability and circular economy, food and retail, health, logistics, fintech, insurtech, cybersecurity, and enterprisetech. Apply now if you are a Swiss or international scale-up with more than CHF 1 million in revenue or more than 10 employees (FTE).