Swiss energy provider invests in Finnish company

Romande Energie is investing outside Switzerland for the first time Keystone-SDA

Swiss energy firm Romande Energie has acquired a minority stake in the Finnish company Hyperion Robotics for an undisclosed sum.

“This investment marks the seventh in Romande Energie’s corporate venture capital portfolio and the first to be made outside Switzerland,” a spokesperson for the Morges-based group told the AWP news agency on Friday.

This arm of the company “can invest up to one million francs in Swiss and European start-ups active in the energy sector,” she added, in order to strengthen Romande Energie’s capacity for innovation. “This approach enables us to keep a close eye on new technologies, as well as new business models.”

Hyperion Robotics, founded in 2020 and based in Espoo, north-west of Helsinki, utilises 3D printing, robotics and physical artificial intelligence (AI) to produce reinforced concrete structures for electricity grids and data centres, reducing “emissions by up to 70%” compared with traditional construction methods.

Romande Energie states, regarding the investments made, that “in the long term, once these solutions have reached a sufficient level of maturity, they will be able to be used by the group’s business units”.

As for Hyperion Robotics, “at this stage, it is still too early to comment on potential synergies”. The Nordic start-up “must first continue its development in Finland and the United Kingdom before tackling new markets. Future collaborations are possible, but it is too early to look any further ahead”, added the spokesperson.

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Translated from French, reviewed by an English Department journalist.