EQUIUM, a Nantes-based deep-tech company developing a new-generation heat pump made 100% in France using acoustic resonance as an active principle, welcomes ARMOR GROUP as a partner alongside entrepreneurs such as Martin Fornage, co-founder of Enphase, and Pierre Tremolières, founder of Accenta.
These new partners reinforce the commitment of existing partners such as Ateq, Le Familly office Entheos and PLP, the investment fund of the Pays de la Loire Region. EQUIUM is a pool of partners committed to reindustrialising the region and creating a high-impact industry on the strength of their industrial expertise.
ARMOR GROUP has also become a member of EQUIUM’s Board of Directors.
“I am extremely enthusiastic about the idea of ARMOR GROUP providing its full support to a promising company like EQUIUM, which is committed to the energy transition. We are simply in awe of the creative and entrepreneurial genius of EQUIUM’s management team. We want to be at their side to encourage their revolutionary technological invention. Our role is to provide advice and share best industrial practice, made possible by our 100-year history,” said Hubert de Boisredon, Chairman and CEO of ARMOR.
Cédric François, Co-Founder of EQUIUM, confirms this, saying: “EQUIUM is a real entrepreneurial adventure that I’m delighted to be embarking on with a partner like ARMOR GROUP. For us, this represents a unique opportunity to work with a major industrial group renowned for its values, its expertise and the excellence of its processes. ARMOR GROUP’s experience will be an undeniable asset as we enter a new phase in our project, enabling us to industrialise our system at optimum cost and guarantee the quality of our products”.
Since 2017 EQUIUM, a player in the energy transition, has been developing an energy efficiency and thermal comfort solution derived from the ability of acoustic waves to transport heat. This has enabled the design and manufacture of revolutionary heat pumps that are silent and reduce CO2 emissions by 90% compared with a gas boiler.
This new generation of heat pumps combines ease of installation with the performance of a traditional heat pump and reduced maintenance, offering users ecological and economical thermal comfort and ease of use. Thanks to the use of sound energy, EQUIUM produces heat and cold without refrigerant or flammable gases, with a reduced carbon footprint and recyclable materials.
“By committing to developing a French acoustic heat pump industry, we aim to contribute to the country’s re-industrialisation, create local jobs with high added value, and meet the CO2 emission reduction targets set by the IPCC for 2030, goals that we share with ARMOR GROUP” says Cédric François, Founder of EQUIUM.
At the beginning of 2024, EQUIUM entered an industrialisation phase and is currently working on finalising its product specifications with a view to obtaining all the certifications required to market its products, with a full-scale testing campaign scheduled for the end of the year. At the same time, the teams are finalising the business model and defining the distribution channels in anticipation of the launch of marketing at the end of 2025.
After acquiring a stake in solar panel manufacturer HoloSolis a few months ago, and recently announcing the spin-off of its ARMOR SMART FILMS business, ARMOR GROUP said it is entering a new phase in its transformation and deployment.
“I’m very proud of the progress made by ARMOR GROUP’s historic businesses, each of which has now achieved great international success, particularly in the industrial know-how of coating and remanufacturing. While continuing to support their development, we believe that the time has come for ARMOR GROUP, by cooperating with various partners, to take a further step in the energy transition and to open up to other promising industrial technologies that are useful to society. We, for our part, will be able to offer them our expertise and industrial credibility to encourage their deployment,” said Hubert de Boisredon.
“Today, ARMOR GROUP is positioning itself as a liberator of industrial energies. By starting this open cooperation programme with HoloSolis and now with EQUIUM, the Group is demonstrating how it intends to become a committed player in the reindustrialisation of France and one of the European spearheads of an industry with a positive social and environmental impact. We are determined to continue forging partnerships of this kind with all those who share this conviction,” he concluded.
