Novac, the Italian start-up manufacturing supercapacitors for the energy, mobility, and industrial sectors, announces the successful closing of its seed investment round for €3.5M underwritten by Eureka! Fund – Technology Transfer, the investment fund managed by Eureka! Venture SGR, CDP Venture Capital SGR and Galaxia, the Italian National Technological Transfer Hub for Aerospace.
Novac was created in 2020 as part of TACC – Training for Automotive Companies Creation, the entrepreneurship program specific to the mobility sector of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, by under-30 alumni of the same university: Matteo Bertocchi, Loris Bruzzi, Alessandro Fabbri and Aldo Girimonte. In 2021, Novac was selected as one of the 8 start-ups to participate in the Motor Valley Accelerator program in Modena, standing out as one of the most promising ventures of the cohort.
Since 2023, Novac has been incubated by I3P, the Innovative Companies Incubator of Politecnico di Torino, within the ESA BIC Turin incubation program, managed by I3P with the technological support of Politecnico di Torino and LINKS Foundation, in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI).
With these new resources secured from investors who have believed in the project, Novac will focus on the development and manufacturing of its innovative technology: next-generation supercapacitors for more sustainable energy storage systems.
Supercapacitors provide high power density and extremely fast charging times, making them ideal to handle energy spikes and to support batteries that would otherwise suffer from stress and premature degradation. Integrating supercapacitors improves battery efficiency while extending their lifespan. By handling peak power, they allow batteries to operate in more stable and optimal conditions. Novac's proprietary and patented technology can be integrated in electric and hybrid systems of the automotive, aerospace, marine and industrial sectors, for a total estimated market value of €6.5 billion.
In the automotive sector, supercapacitors optimize energy recovery during braking and provide immediate power for swift acceleration. In the aerospace industry, they support critical operations such as powering SAR satellites and deploying solar panels without requiring the over-sizing of batteries. In the marine sector, they improve the efficiency of port manoeuvres and hybrid propulsion, reducing fuel consumption; while in industrial applications, they stabilize energy in production lines and UPS systems, ensuring operational continuity. Integrating supercapacitors ensures greater sustainability, better performance and efficiency of the overall system, while allowing operating and maintenance costs reduction.
"We are delighted to have successfully closed this seed round, a crucial milestone for Novac. We want to express a heartfelt thank you to Eureka! Venture and CDP Venture Capital for renewing their trust in our project, and we want to give a warm welcome to Galaxia, the National Technological Transfer Hub for Aerospace, whose support confirms the great potential of our technology in the aerospace sector", stated Matteo Bertocchi, Co-Founder & CEO of Novac. "With this investment, we will be able to scale our technology through the creation of a pilot line in 2025, bringing us ever closer to our goal of developing and producing high-performance supercapacitors in Italy.”
Anna Amati from Eureka! Venture claimed: "We have supported Novac from the very beginning, believing in the founders and their ability to create value. Today, with this new round, focused on the pilot line set up, we confirm and reinforce our trust in the team and the potential of their solutions. The involvement of CDP Venture Capital, also through Galaxia Hub, represents an important confirmation for the Company for the validation of its proprietary technology in the aerospace sector."
"We are very satisfied with the progress Novac is making, a company that we have been supporting from the first edition of Motor Valley Accelerator", added Stefano Molino, Head of the Accelerator Fund at CDP Venture Capital. "With this new investment, involving also the Galaxia National Technology Transfer Hub, we reaffirm our trust in this team, who is leading one of the most promising ventures in the national technological innovation landscape. We firmly believe that they can play an increasingly central role in the electric mobility market."
