Nova Incubator: the 2023 top class of graduates report “exceptional” results
Their names are Lynx, Lium, Ylssen and Alhomna Systems... These four start-ups were the first to follow the support programme offered by GRTgaz’s Nova incubator for one year, between 2022 and 2023. Their founders tell us about the experience.
From the outset, the aim was promising: the Nova incubator was designed to nurture start-ups developing innovative solutions linked to renewable gases, hydrogen, decarbonisation of uses, industry 4.0, operational performance, safety and the optimisation of industrial assets. In addition to the shared workspaces and tailor-made technical, methodological and entrepreneurial support provided by GRTgaz, the four start-ups were also able to benefit from the support of its Research and Innovation Centre for Energy (RICE), giving them access to test areas supervised by researchers to carry out their experiments.
After a year of active incubation, the results are living up to expectations. The four start-ups selected have succeeded in designing new products, services or tools aimed to optimise the performance of GRTgaz and its customers.
Let the winners speak for themselves
LYNX
Winner in the “Industry 4.0 and digitisation” field, LYNX has developed mixed reality glasses, designed to enhance and augment a technician’s real environment, through a realistic 3D model of an infrastructure.
Chouki Hadri, VP General Manager of Lynx: "Nova has enabled us to develop a remote assessment application for our mixed reality headset, so that we can assess the condition of pipes from a distance. This gave us the opportunity to put our intuition to the test in real-life operating conditions, and create a solution tailored to the application. The business impact is considerable: we are currently discussing the roll-out of the solution as if we were a traditional supplier. Developing our solution in partnership with a major group has strengthened our credibility: we’re already being approached by manufacturers in other sectors. The icing on the cake is that we’ve come away from this experience with applications that we hadn’t necessarily thought of, and which represent new business opportunities! ”
LIUM
Selected in the field of “the industrial, energy and ecological transition”, LIUM is proposing a solution using balloons attached to the ground by a cable to monitor industrial sites. Equipped with cameras, these balloons are designed to help manufacturers better control safety, environmental risks and the risks associated with certain operations.
Guilain Yvon, CEO de Lium : “By providing us with experts, Nova has enabled us to develop a product that directly meets the real needs of manufacturers. Together, we defined two use cases, one for using the balloon once an incident has been triggered, and the other for detecting and quantifying methane leaks. Operational sites were made available to us to carry out in situ testing. And the solution proved to be relevant to each of the use cases. We’ve had an exceptional year, from both a technical and a commercial point of view.”
YLSSEN
In the field of ‘operational performance and industrial safety’, YLSSEN has developed an electronic system, capable of remotely monitoring the open or closed state of industrial valves in real time.
Stéphane Canet, CEO of Ylssen: “The Nova incubator opened the doors of the RICE research centre’s laboratories to us and gave us access to operational pilot sites. A market study enabled us to test out the functionality and price of our system. This study also led us to identify new functionalities. I wasn't expecting such positive feedback about the relevance of the project, the functionalities, the existence of a very real need – we ranked very highly every time. I felt that the GRTgaz teams were genuinely interested, curious and sympathetic. Each time, I was able to talk to the people involved who were eager to see our system in action.”
ALHOMNA SYSTEMS
In the field of “new gases and start-ups”, ALHOMNA SYSTEMS is working on the development of an innovative solution for producing energy from waste by pyrolysis under solar radiation, in order to contribute to the energy transition.
Thomas Delapierre, founding Director of Alhomna Systems : “We were right at the start of our project with just a general idea of how our technology and associated equipment could take shape. We went from a simple drawing to 3D modelling, which they helped us to turn into a physical machine, as close as possible to the industrial need. GRTgaz’s experts helped us save time in developing the prototype, and avoid mistakes. Being incubated by such a partner has given our company added weight and legitimacy. We’ve gone from being sweet ecological dreamers to credible entrepreneurs, and have already been approached by departmental chambers of agriculture.”
