The start-up SYPOX has set itself an ambitious goal: it wants to make the chemical industry more sustainable. Instead of burning oil and gas, the heat required for a wide range of chemical processes is generated electrically. The founders met at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and jointly developed the required technology. The company has already secured its first major customer.

Technology-based companies usually have one thing in common: they need a lot of capital for investment and development. This naturally goes hand in hand with time and pressure to succeed, because venture capitalists want to see results and have a say. SYPOX has taken a different path. “It was not our style to raise money, but we tried to build a business with our technology from the very beginning,” says CEO Dr. Gianluca Pauletto. This approach is unusual in the tech start-up scene, but it fits with the company's philosophy: down-to-earth, close to customer needs, focused on sustainable value creation.

Clean synthesis gas – clean process

The most important thing, of course, is a high-performance product. At SYPOX, this is a reactor that looks like an industrial pressure vessel – technically speaking, it is an electric heating element connected behind the catalysts. The technology is complex and protected by patents, but the underlying principle is surprisingly simple. “It's basically like a kettle in your kitchen at home, only on an industrial scale,” says CTO Dr. Martin Baumgärtl.

It's all about producing synthesis gas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide that is a key component in the production of methanol, ammonia, and many other basic industrial materials. Until now, fossil fuel burners have been used for the process, which requires high temperatures. But these release enormous amounts of CO₂. “In traditional processes, around 40 percent of emissions come from heat generation using fossil fuels alone,” explains Baumgärtl.

SYPOX replaces the flames with electricity: electric heating elements bring the necessary heat directly into the reactor. This drastically reduces CO₂ emissions and makes process control easier and safer – without changing the underlying chemistry. “We want to electrify the chemical industry,” says CEO Gianluca Pauletto, adding: “It must finally become more sustainable.”

Three researchers, one vision

The idea originated with Pauletto during his doctoral studies in Montreal, where he explored ways to make high-temperature chemical processes more climate-friendly. At TUM, he found the right partners: Prof. Johannes Lercher from the Chair of Technical Chemistry II at the TUM School of Natural Sciences and Martin Baumgärtl, back then a graduating PhD at the chair. Together, they took the plunge into self-employment in 2021 – supported by the TUM Venture Lab ChemSpace and EXIST start-up grant from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

The journey was not a sprint, but a marathon, as Lercher emphasizes: “It took four years of research and numerous tests in TUM laboratories.” At the same time, the team built its own pilot plant in a simple steel container at the biogas plant in the municipality of Dollnstein in the rural Altmühltal valley. Today, SYPOX employs around a dozen people. The company is headquartered in Langenbach, not far away from the TUM research campus in Garching where SYPOX continues to operate a laboratory, remaining closely integrated into the university’s innovation ecosystem.

Major customer with Clariant – a breakthrough

SYPOX has just gained its first major customer supported by Clariant, which has also been an official research partner of TUM for many years. The end customer plans to use SYPOX's technology to produce around 150 tons of synthesis gas per day from 2026 onwards – using renewable electricity and with up to 40 percent lower emissions. “We are proud to be working with Clariant in this first-of-its-kind installation,” says Baumgärtl. “This is not only a milestone for us, but also a strong signal to the entire chemical industry.”

With its technology, SYPOX is setting a new standard: away from fossil-fuel burners and toward electrified chemistry. And the market entry with such a well-known partner is promising. “We help with decarbonization,” Pauletto puts it plainly. And that's exactly what makes SYPOX extraordinary: a start-up that doesn't need a lot of money to get started but is largely financed by revenue and immediately reduces emissions.

Further information and links

According to the Financial Times, the innovation ecosystem centered around TUM and UnternehmerTUM is the most successful start-up hub in Europe. Its particular strengths lie in its strong, diverse network and its highly specific support. In initiatives and co-labs, start-ups work on innovations with established companies, experts, investors, and administrators. The founding teams receive support tailored precisely to the individual phases of the start-up and the teams.

TUM and UnternehmerTUM jointly operate the TUM Venture Labs. Across twelve technology fields, these provide direct access to cutting-edge research, technical infrastructure, and market expertise. Most recently, more than 100 companies were founded at TUM in one year, and more than 1,100 start-up teams received support from UnternehmerTUM and Venture Labs.

Technical University of Munich

Corporate Communications Center

• Ulrich Meyer
• presse@tum.de
• Teamwebsite

Original article: https://www.tum.de/en/news-and-events/all-news/press-releases/details/making-the-chemical-industry-more-sustainable