Swistor: The Venture Leader Mobile making energy storage sustainable

16.02.2024 09:00, Rita Longobardi

Meet Clara Moldovan, CEO of Swistor. The Cleantech startup provides customers with a full energy storage solution to improve or replace batteries in high-power or fast-charging cycle applications. Clara and the other Swiss National Mobile Team members will head to the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona at the end of February.

Name: Clara Moldovan 
Location: Lausanne, Switzerland
Nationality: Romanian 
Graduated from: EPFL 
Job title: CEO 
Number of employees: 2 
Money raised: 1.1 million CHF 
 
 

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Can you tell us who your product or solution helps, and how?
Swistor's product helps manufacturers of portable electronic devices and IoT monitors to have more efficient, long-lasting and also sustainable electronic systems. By adding our high-power energy storage device to their batteries, they can minimize their size and increase their operation cycle life and by adding them to an energy harvester like a solar cell, they can power a portable system for up to 10 years without ever needing a battery change.

What market are you addressing and what is the potential of your startup in that market?
We currently address the consumer electronics, power tools and IoT monitors markets where our startup can bring significant benefits to a multitude of applications requiring high power bursts, fast charging or longer cycle life, due to the high energy density of our supercapacitors. At a later stage, we also target higher power applications like grid stabilization or more efficient mobility systems.

How and where did you come up with the idea for your startup?
I have a background in microengineering and semiconductor devices and the startup started from the idea to use microtechnology processes and the ability to control materials at the nanoscale and optimize material interfaces to push forward the limits of energy storage devices. Then the idea kept evolving and got into shape when Victoria Manzi joined and brought her experience in electrochemistry.

What do you expect from the Venture Leaders roadshow, and how do you think it will help you achieve your vision?
We expect that it will provide a global platform to showcase our devices to potential customers and partners, find new applications and hopefully future collaborations with lead customers that would like to integrate our customizable supercapacitor devices into their systems.

What are your team’s key achievements to date?
On the technical side, we fabricated a high energy density supercapacitor that does not use critical materials and fills a significant gap in the market on the market validation side, we tested it with an automotive partner, powering a safety feature in a car proving the value of our technology in efficient portable systems. On the financial side, we raised above 2 million CHF since the start of the project, out of which 1.1 million for the company, since incorporation. On the team side, we have a great team of collaborators and advisers that support our growth, I think this is a crucial factor for our development.
 
Is there a key principle or value that guides you as you build your company?
Always strive for excellence and never compromise your values. We aim to develop disruptive products that tackle important issues in our society today and we have a focus on sustainability and making a positive environmental impact, which is one of our key motivators.

What is the most important lesson you have learned as a founder?
Every roadblock plays an important role in moving forward and it’s essentially just an opportunity to leap higher, move towards a more promising direction and, perseverance is key. It sounds like a cliché but it was always in the very tough moments that we had the best ideas and breakthroughs and so far, we always ended up in a better place.

What is your favorite productivity hack or tool and why?
Focus and Timeboxing. I like setting aside dedicated time for a task and going all-in with no distractions. Setting a clear endpoint allows more focused and efficient work. When it comes to creative work, if I hit a block, I take short breaks and switch gears to something else, which helps to come back with a fresh perspective. 

What was your dream job when you were a child?
I did not really have one dream job but at some point, I would have liked to be a film director or a National Geographic photographer, I was always fascinated by storytelling and unique and adventurous explorations. I ended up embarking on a very different type of adventure but I believe that creativity and storytelling are an important part of shaping a company and its products. Now we are working to redefine energy storage, and I'm excited about the story we are crafting for a more sustainable future.

Do you recommend a podcast you want to share with us?
Now I am listening to the Huberman Lab Podcast which gives scientific insights and simple neuroscience-based hacks for productivity, motivation, fitness, focus and enhancing different brain and body functions. It gives insights into how our brains work and how we can improve various aspects of our lives.