The bond behind the bonds

Growing up and studying in France, Andreatta knew from the get-go that chemistry was her calling. After earning her PhD in physical chemistry, she worked at a spin-out of the University of Oxford, called Oxford Nano, where she honed her talents as an R&D specialist, following this up with a ten-year stint in R&D at the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM). It was during this time that she would begin her MBA and cross paths with her future founding partner, Carpenter.

Staying at ETH Zurich for most of her career, with brief stints at Imperial College London and MIT, Carpenter is a specialist in material science. It is no secret that ETH Zurich is a hub of innovation, and it was this exposure that she feels influenced her towards commercialising the product of her PhD. “I was very fortunate to be in a group during my PhD that had a whole bunch of startups coming out of it. It was in this environment, talking with a lot of entrepreneurs, where I began to think about making something from my promising PhD work,” she explains. On the hunt for a partner to make this idea a reality, Carpenter would meet Andreatta at just the right moment. The rest is history.

Andreatta explores: “I met Julia during my MBA through a mutual friend, right as she was looking to create her startup. We got talking and I couldn’t stop thinking about her work, it really pulled me in!

“So, after a little bit of thought, I took the leap and jumped ship to join Julia. We started working together in early 2023, going on to found Apheros in August that year.”

From PhD project to PhD product

If there was one word to describe what motivates Andreatta and Carpenter, it would be impact.

“Something that has certainly driven me through my career, and to found Apheros, is that I want to do something that I feel personally has a purpose and an impact,” says Andreatta. “The technology we are working on has that purpose, that impact [in energy and on the environment], and building a nice environment around it was just ticking all the boxes,” she enthuses.

“I had actually always expected to become a manager in science following my PhD,” says Carpenter. Yet, she couldn’t see a future where her technology, with so much potential, was ‘left to die inside of a PhD thesis.’

“This endeavour [founding Apheros] gives us the opportunity to build something that reflects our values and our way of operating, and of course push for the impact we wish to see.”

Now, Apheros is working on redefining how liquid cooling solutions are built, centred around heat exchange. Carpenter explains: We're focusing on a key component – the point where heat exchange occurs, where heat transfers from the material into the liquid. We're replacing this component with a metal sponge, which functions similarly to a kitchen sponge. Just as a sponge absorbs and moves liquid, our material facilitates liquid flow while also drawing in heat. By integrating this heat exchange element into our material, we significantly enhance the performance of cooling solutions, which, in turn, improves overall cooling efficiency in data centres, electric vehicles, or any other application.

“Data centres are a really big topic at the moment, because they’re being cooled more and more with updated technologies as they upgrade. This means you need lots of new elements with specific designs across the energy board, they’re just such big energy hogs!” continues Andreatta.
Here, Apheros is seeing 3-10% improvements on cooling efficiencies, something that is a lucrative gain in the data centre world, with many more product areas in the pipelines.

The team with all the chemistry

Apheros may have started as a passionate duo, but it has been growing ever since. After the initial founding stage, Apheros was able to attract university grants which allowed for another pair of hands on board. Since then, it has only continued to scale: “We are now at 11 total people full time now, alongside supporting internships,” says Andreatta.

“We have people in R&D, dedicated thermal product development, production pilot lines, and someone to support us in business development. We’re upskilling in technology, scaling up production, and expanding all the time, it’s really great to see.”

“We always aim to find similar mindset individuals that offer a unique set of skills to really make a complimentary team. We are learning so much from our employees every single day, which is just amazing,” finishes Carpenter.

Tests and triumphs

The company’s journey hasn’t always been a silky-smooth process, and naturally challenges have cropped up along the way. Namely, being manufacturing-oriented comes with its own set of challenges alongside establishing yourself in a tight-knit industry.

As Carpenter admits: “I think it [establishing yourself] is almost every startup’s biggest challenge, especially at a B2B level, and especially in a well established industry.

“We have finally found our footing, but it took us a while to manage and establish ourselves within the community. Ideally we wanted this process to be faster, but it’s good that we are there now and have an excellent network of collaborators and customers.”

Andreatta continues: “I think the timelines linked to making a physical hardware product are also a key challenge. It’s a classical technical challenge for any startup in the space. It’s not one of those things you can just throw money at and it will fix overnight, it’s a long process that involves lead times, suppliers, manufacturing, and much more.

“It’s something we are getting the hang of though, and establishing good connections for, and it’s always great to have the understanding investors that we have behind us.”

On the flip, Apheros has had plenty to celebrate since its founding days. For Carpenter, a recent development has been one of the best so far: “In January we massively scaled up our production capabilities successfully, in both quality and size.” This jump has been phenomenal for Apheros, able to go from making a few centimetre cubes, to 10kg a week.

Beyond this, Carpenter also highlighted her joys at the team they have managed to build at Apheros. “It's always a highlight to find a team member that really meshes well with us, because hiring is not easy.” This process has paid off, and the duo couldn’t be happier with their current team.

For Andreatta, the support the company has seen from a wonderful set of investors has be a tremendous triumph. “We’ve had such wonderful support, both financial as well as networking, from the Swiss ecosystem. From investments via Innosuisse, to the various suppliers and manufacturers we work with, the ecosystem has been a definite highlight.”

Onto the next big discovery

Apheros is working hard to expand what it is currently doing whilst also keeping one eye firmly on the horizon. “Right now, it’s a lot of expansion in what we’re currently doing, and a lot of working with customers on long term studies, solutions, etc.,” explores Carpenter.

With such a versatile product, the possibilities are only being explored at a surface level to see what works and what doesn’t currently. Yet, the team at Apheros are thrilled to explore the next steps: “We’re really focusing on liquid cooling currently, but we’ve had some promising R&D partnerships where we are exploring other applications. For instance, it’s extremely promising for green hydrogen production products across Europe, especially in giant markets like Germany,” enthuses Andreatta.

The team takes each month and each year as they come at the moment, but are excited for the many possibilities the future holds for Apheros and its innovative technology. “Startups are a marathon, not a sprint, and so approach them the same way,” finishes Carpenter. “Take care of yourself and take care of your team. Communication and culture are really, really key. Know yourself, know your values, know your purpose, but don’t just know it – say it!” concludes Andreatta.

This article originally appeared in the March/April 2025 issue of Startups Magazine. Click here to subscribe