EIC Coffee Break: Doris Hafenbradl on scaling biomethanation and building Electrochaea
- ›Electrochaea grew from a university idea about biomethanation into a commercial company founded in Munich in 2014.
- ›Prof. Laurens Mets identified renewable methane and methanogenic archaea as a promising route to future energy systems and provided the scientific starting point.
- ›Laboratory adaptation began around 2006, with raw biogas tests at a brewery digester in St Louis in 2011 and pre-commercial trials in Foulum, Denmark in 2013.
- ›Electrochaea overcame early funding shortages to complete a Series A and scale from three founders to more than 40 staff by 2022.
- ›The company positions its technology for utility scale energy storage, natural gas replacement and carbon reuse but wider adoption faces market and policy challenges.
- ›Founder and CTO Doris Hafenbradl recommends clear vision, role diversity inside teams, and thinking about beneficiaries when starting a company.
From lab idea to industrial pilot A close look at Electrochaea and biomethanation
Electrochaea is a growth stage company that emerged from academic research into how biology could play a role in future energy systems. The firm developed a process that uses certain microorganisms to convert carbon dioxide and hydrogen into renewable methane. In an EIC Coffee Break interview Doris Hafenbradl, Electrochaea's CTO and Managing Director, recounts the technology origins, the early field tests, the practical challenges of fundraising and scale up, and her practical advice for people thinking about founding a company.
Scientific origins and the idea that launched a company
Early tests and demonstrations
Electrochaea's development path included laboratory adaptation, small scale testing and then larger field trials. In 2011 the team ran laboratory scale tests with raw biogas at a brewery digester in St Louis Missouri. In 2013 they carried out pre commercial field tests in Foulum Denmark. That Danish project was financed by the Danish Energy Agency under the EUDP programme and demonstrated aspects of scalability and productivity according to the company. At the time uptake in the US was limited because there was little market interest in renewable gas.
| Year | Event | Note |
| 2006 | Archaea strain identified and adapted | Laboratory adaptation for industrial application begins |
| 2011 | Laboratory scale tests with raw biogas | Tests conducted at a brewery digester in St Louis Missouri |
| 2013 | Pre commercial field tests in Foulum Denmark | Project financed by the Danish Energy Agency EUDP program |
| 2014 | Electrochaea GmbH founded in Munich | Founders include Mich Hein and early team, Series A closed |
| 2022 | Growth stage company | More than 40 employees and ongoing market development |
Founding, roles and scaling the company
Electrochaea GmbH was established in Munich in 2014. Mich Hein was one of the founders and the chief executive who was instrumental in securing investors and closing a Series A financing round. Doris Hafenbradl was one of the three original team members and took on the role of CTO and Managing Director tasked with moving the technology through pilot plants and toward market readiness. The company expanded from those initial three people to a team of more than 40 by 2022.
How the technology works and what it claims to deliver
Practical challenges and the human side of building a cleantech company
Hafenbradl acknowledges familiar pressures from the clean technology and biopharmaceutical sectors. Early on the company faced funding shortages and repeated fundraising needs. She stresses the importance of believing in the mission during difficult times. Electrochaea found investors with aligned interests and that was decisive for exiting the initial difficult phase. Her entrepreneurship advice is pragmatic. She recommends having a clear vision, thinking about longevity and the end user, and making sure different people in the company carry distinct responsibilities such as product development and finance.
Personal notes reading and a preferred conversation partner
On the personal side Hafenbradl has a PhD in Extremophilic Microorganisms and says her family came to understand and appreciate why she returned to this field. She reads multiple books at once including a travel book about Madagascar and Isabel Allende's Das Geisterhaus. Books that inspired her include the classics Effi Briest by Theodor Fontane and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. If she could choose one business leader to meet for lunch she would pick Bill Gates and she notes she has had the chance to meet him at an event.
Context and implications for the European innovation ecosystem
Electrochaea's path is typical of EU clean tech scale up stories in several ways. It began with academic research, moved through publicly supported field trials and relied on private investors for scale up. The 2013 Danish trial was financed by the Danish Energy Agency under the EUDP program which is an example of national support for demonstration projects. Europe has shown earlier and stronger policy interest in renewable gas than the US did at the time of these early tests. That policy interest can create markets and incentives needed for deployment but it does not guarantee rapid adoption.
There are technical and economic trade offs to consider. Converting electricity into methane and putting it into gas networks uses existing infrastructure but results in conversion losses. Alternative storage options such as batteries, pumped hydro, or hydrogen based systems each have different cost and suitability profiles. Claims of scalability and productivity from pilot trials are important but require replication at multiple sites and under different operational conditions before broader market impact can be assumed. Policy clarity on renewable gases and carbon accounting will strongly influence commercial prospects.
Takeaway
Electrochaea illustrates how a focused scientific insight can lead to a commercial technology when supported by targeted demonstrations and willing investors. The company has progressed from a university laboratory idea to industrial pilots and a growing team. The promise of renewable methane as a way to store renewable energy and reuse carbon is real but it faces competition from other storage technologies and depends on policy support and market demand. The practical lessons that Hafenbradl offers are straightforward. Founders need a clear vision, complementary skills on the team and realistic planning for how the innovation will reach the end user.