We are pleased to present QHeat, a geothermal energy technology company based in Helsinki, Finland. In collaboration with world-leading experts and universities, the company has developed a revolutionary coaxial geothermal heating, cooling and energy storage system that drastically reduces emissions. QHeat was founded by Erika Salmenvaara, CEO, and Rami Niemi, CTO.
Here are some key highlights:
- Reduces real estate heating emissions by up to 90% in comparison to fossil-fuel-based heating
- Uses 20–50% less electricity than other heat pump solutions
- One 1,500-meter-deep well reduces emissions as effectively as 7,000 solar panels.
- Requires 97% less land than traditional wells.
QHeat is one of the 54 selected companies in Cohort 2 within the Renewable Energy Production group.
What’s the biggest industry problem that you’re tackling and how?
QHeat's geothermal wells reduce emissions of heat production and deliver seasonal heat storage capability to even out fluctuations between demand and production.
What keeps you awake at night about your startup?
Finding the right path for our company to grow requires agile and persistent teamwork. With a small team, new technology, and an immature market, you need to focus on the contacts and tasks that seem to be most promising to grow your business and move quickly on when you feel that there isn't enough progress.
New ideas tend to rise during nighttime. I rarely stay up to think them through, but write them down to remind myself of the thought on the following day. A good night's sleep gives the right boost for the next day.
In your wildest dreams, what would success look like for your company?
QHeat accelerates the climate goals of the built environment by providing a scalable, large-scale ground source heating system to reduce emissions efficiently. We are there to help our partners grow and succeed, delivering our licensed technology to locations around the world. Building commercially viable deep geothermal for heating, cooling, and energy storage is a tricky business. QHeat is present for its partners to support in this journey by providing the system design and components plus supporting expert services to guide the partner through the lifecycle.
50% of all energy demand globally is for heating purposes, and most of it is still produced by fossil fuels or other combustion-based technologies. There aren't many scalable renewable heat production technologies to solve the challenge.
When we succeed, cities prosper with clean, local, and safe energy production simply below their feet.
To support our growing network and its startups, we invite potential stakeholders (investors, lead customers, mentors, and supporting partners) to apply here.
This project has received funding from the European Union under grant agreement Nº101121100. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.