Ventive started out as a designer and manufacturer of innovative passive ventilation systems, before expanding into developing a smart, zero carbon home solution, that includes: low carbon heating and cooling, electrical and thermal energy storage, hot and cold water and ventilation all in one box – Ventive Home.

Following a rigorous Innovator Challenge application process of SMEs developing innovative smart heating and cooling solutions, Energy Launchpad selected Ventive to receive support for commercial development.

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Ventive had secured a pilot project with Nottingham City Council to demonstrate retrofitting for social housing. Ventive Home gave tenants improved air quality, comfort and lower energy bills. The local authority or housing association got a simple to install and cost-effective whole house retrofit solution.

But Ventive were unsure which market segments were ready for complex retrofit solutions, which business models were suitable for financing and how to improve consumer services.

Energy Launchpad supported Ventive with:

• Market Insights – quantifying the market opportunity, prioritise target sectors based on value
• Business Model Innovation – we developed a commercial route to market with a viable “Comfort-as-a-Service” business model that makes Ventive Home more affordable for both tenant and landlord.

Where are Ventive now?

• Nottingham City Council has a plan to retrofit around 20,000 homes in response to the climate emergency and Ventive are in a prime position to help them execute that ambition.
• Ventive began manufacturing their Ventive Home innovation in Summer 2022 with 7,500 systems set for UK homes within 18 months.
• New and bespoke manufacturing facility at Hartlebury, Worcestershire, creating 40 new jobs.
• Production set to rise to 100,000 by 2025, to accelerate the UK’s drive towards Net Zero.

Airex has developed a smart ventilation control – an intelligent air brick – that automatically regulates air flow using sensors to monitor temperature, humidity and air quality.

Tens of millions of homes in the UK were built with low energy efficiency standards, with poor insulation leading to cold rooms and uncomfortable draughts. Traditional air-bricks or vents were often installed to prevent damp and mould, but are responsible for up to 15% of heat loss in the home. This means occupants often need to turn up the heating, which in turn drives up energy bills.

Energy Systems Catapult helped Airex accelerate their innovation to market with product validation via a test and demonstration trial in our Living Lab. Data from the trial supported for further product development and business planning.

• Living Lab – Airex are received a wealth of data about the performance of their smart ventilation product, which enabled them to validate their initial energy savings estimates for their consumer proposition.
• Consumer Insight – from the consumer trial helped Airex refine their customer value proposition.
• Industry collaboration – through the Smart Systems and Heat programme, we facilitated collaboration with industry partners Engie and EDF Energy.

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UPDATE: From start-up to scale-up:

For start-ups, getting orders right and delivered on time can be the difference between building a loyal customer base and losing business – as customers lose trust in your service. And it’s not always easy – especially when you’re planning to scale up your operations.

Airex knew that their manual process of managing stock and fulfilling orders would not last forever. Through the government’s Net Zero Innovation Portfolio programme, the Catapult helped them map out a scalable order fulfilment journey, integrating with their current tools and resources, to support their next stages of growth.

• Service Design – from understanding Airex’s operations and growth strategy via a literature review business operations documentation, to interviews with key employees and a co-creation workshop, we developed a service blueprint. This blueprint mapped each back-office step AirEx would need to take, along with every interaction point with their third-party suppliers and customers – tied together by software integrations, linking their communications, pipeline, and invoicing software with a new manufacturing and stock control software that fit the unique needs of the business.

Voltempo is developing the next generation of rapid chargers for electric vehicles (EVs). Its EV hub charging technology is quick to install and can charge a battery from flat to full in as little as six minutes, making it the world’s fastest charging capability.

The technology is suitable for both large and small vehicle fleets – including for buses, HGVs and taxis – and also for large-scale public charging infrastructure.

Our Energy Launchpad provided expertise in Business Model Innovation to Voltempo to support it on its commercialisation journey and to help boost growth.

Voltempo in one of several SMEs we’re supporting through the Climate Innovation Platform (CIP) Low Carbon Energy Solutions Innovator Challenge, a collaborative programme backed by HSBC UK and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and delivered with University of Birmingham.

Energy Launchpad supported Voltempo in the form of:

• Business Model Innovation: Providing support through series of workshops to help accelerate the company’s commercialisation journey. The workshops helped Voltempo understand its target market, implement business modelling techniques and explore routes to market partnerships within the value chain.
• Investor Readiness: Advising and supporting Voltempo to prepare an investor pack, identify target investors and and developing the pitch to help it secure additional funding.

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