Aalto University was represented on stage by projects such as NeuroEye Insights, Smart Bubbles, BonFom and Colorific, and co-organized the Sustainable Materials Pitching Competition for early-stage startups and pre-startups. We had the opportunity to interview Paula Viinamäki, commercial lead of the project that won the 5,000€ prize. Granarium Technologies is a Finnish innovation from VTT that can transform the way electricity is stored by using nanocellulose to build 100% renewable electricity storage. Below you can find out more about their story.
Paula, could you tell us the story of Granarium?
Otto-Ville Kaukoniemi and Vesa Kunnari, scientists at VTT, were investigating whether it would be possible to create an electricity storage 100% made of renewable materials. In their research, they discovered a couple of different renewable materials that could be used for this purpose. Then, they identified that supercapacitors were the most interesting energy storage technology for this innovation because they already have components that are made of carbon-based materials. The challenge was then to replace the non-sustainable materials with the right biomaterial, which they identified to be high-consistency nanocellulose. In the process of building this fully renewable supercapacitor, they also discovered that the whole manufacturing process could be simplified. The team first applied Business Finland funding in 2015, but received them only years later, when the renewable energy transition became a world-wide imperative. Now it is really the best time to move this innovation forward.
How did the experience of working with VTT researchers benefited you personally?
Since I already have experience working with engineers from my time in Nokia and Microsoft, the collaboration with the Granarium researchers at VTT has been natural and we were able to understand each other. As a bonus, my personal network now includes the broader VTT community.
As one of the teams reaching the finals of the Sustainable Materials Pitching Competition, how was your general experience at Y science?
It was awesome. Even though we weren’t initially planning to apply for it, we then heard a few positive experiences and thought to give it a try. And we are very happy to have been part of it! Even though the pitch coaching focuses on supporting teams that have little pitching experience (while we had already been pitching for some time), it's always good to learn and hear feedback from different perspectives, to “acid test” your ideas and the way you present. And the overall pitching competition during Y Science was arranged perfectly.
What is in store for Granarium in the near future?
It has been an incredible journey with Granarium and VTT! Our first customer pilots are in planning, and we’re steadily advancing toward our goal of creating the most sustainable, cost-efficient, and safe power storage solution.
We’re in the final stage of securing funding to launch operations and pilot production. Exciting times ahead—if you're interested in joining or investing, now’s the time to act!