Start-up scene EU Building Directive
A “second skin” for the house – this company wants to simplify renovations
Status: 03.08.2023 | Reading time: 3 minutes
Refurbishment is expensive, and in many places there is a lack of skilled workers
Quelle: Getty Images/Visoot Uthairam
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Millions of buildings in Germany have to be energetically renovated. The Berlin company Ecoworks advertises that it can quickly insulate houses through serial production – not only a special production method should promise a strategic advantage here.
According to estimates, almost eight million buildings will have to be renovated in a climate-friendly manner in Germany alone in the next few years. The background is a new EU directive: According to this, all residential properties should have at least energy efficiency class “D” by 2033, i.e. consume a maximum of 130 kilowatt hours of energy per square meter per year. If this is not the case, there is a risk that individual buildings can no longer be rented or sold.
In particular, owners of large existing properties such as apartment buildings are under pressure, because their properties are often decades old and not very energy-efficient. That means: roofs have to be insulated better, facades have to be renewed and modern heating systems have to be installed.
That costs money, but also nerves: Renovation is expensive and in many places there is a lack of skilled workers.
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It is also this problem that Emanuel Heisenberg describes to investors. Heisenberg is the founder of the start-up Ecoworks and hopes to benefit from the renovation backlog. The Berlin company advertises that housing estates and prefabricated buildings can be renovated quickly through serial production.
Heisenberg promises that 80 percent of the work will be done inexpensively by robots in factories. The finished panels, which also include windows and ventilation, are then installed by Ecoworks on the building within a few days.
Billions in sales targeted by 2027
“It’s like a second skin that’s wrapped around the house,” Heisenberg then explains to potential financiers. By 2027 he is aiming for a turnover of one billion euros.
In order to enable the necessary growth, Ecoworks has now received a new capital injection of 22 million euros. In addition to the existing Berlin investor Proptech1 Ventures, the US financiers Zacua Ventures and Blackhorn Ventures participated in the financing round. The medium-sized company Warema from Lower Franconia, which specializes in building technology, is also part of the group of shareholders.
Ecoworks boss Heisenberg did not want to comment on the evaluation when asked by “Gründerszene”. In the corporate environment, however, there is talk of a high amount in the millions “on the edge of two to three digits”. Since Ecoworks was founded in 2018, almost 45 million euros have flowed into the start-up.
Ecoworks founder Emanuel Heisenberg. The name is no coincidence: he is the grandson of the famous physicist Werner Heisenberg
Quelle: Ecoworks
Nikolas Samios, Managing Partner at the Berlin investor Proptech1, justifies his renewed investment with the market opportunities outside of Germany. “The topic of renovation applies across the EU and increasingly in the USA,” says Samios.
The fact that Ecoworks offers, in addition to patented production methods, a software platform for planning renovations digitally makes the start-up particularly attractive. According to Samios, Ecoworks is currently the “best answer on the market” for “external renovation”.
There is still competition: in addition to Ecoworks, start-ups also want to do so Enter from Berlin as well 42 watts from Munich are pushing ahead with the energetic refurbishment of buildings.
With the 22 million euros from the new round of financing, Ecoworks founder Emanuel Heisenberg now wants to gain a head start. “The round allows us to break even, as profitability is crucial to build a leading player in the rehabilitation sector,” said Heisenberg. This should be achieved by the end of 2024 at the latest.
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In order to display embedded content, your revocable consent to the transmission and processing of personal data is required, since the providers of the embedded content as third-party providers require this consent [In diesem Zusammenhang können auch Nutzungsprofile (u.a. auf Basis von Cookie-IDs) gebildet und angereichert werden, auch außerhalb des EWR]. By setting the switch to “on”, you agree to this (which can be revoked at any time). This also includes your consent to the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA, in accordance with Art. 49 (1) (a) GDPR. You can find more information about this. You can withdraw your consent at any time via the switch and via privacy at the bottom of the page.