bentekk GmbH receives seed funding to develop the market with gas measurement technology

The manufacturer of measurement instruments for toxic industrial gases bentekk successfully completes a seed funding round. The High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and the Innovationsstarter Fonds Hamburg (IFH) invest a six-figure sum in the Hamburg-based company. The handheld X-PID allows fast and selective measurements of carcinogenic organic compounds as benzene and increases safety at work in the oil, gas and chemical industry. The funding is used to open up the German-speaking market and to develop a second product version for use in explosive atmospheres.

The High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and the Innovationsstarter Fonds Hamburg (IFH) invest a six-digit amount in the company bentekk. The Hamburg-based manufacturer of innovative gas detection technology for on-site analysis wants to enhance safety for workers through improved monitoring of threshold limit values of toxic gases.

bentekk GmbH is a spin-off of the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) and the NIT Northern Institute of Technology Management. The founders Matthias Schmittmann and Johannes Weber have conducted related research since the end of 2013.

The first product X-PID is a handheld gas detector for fast and selective measurements of benzene and other toxic volatile organic compounds (VOC) in very low concentrations. Primary use cases are clearance measurements in the oil, gas, petrochemical and chemical industry during shutdowns and turnarounds.

“Our measurement system is based on the technologies multi-capillary column gas chromatography and photoionization detection (MCC-GC-PID). In addition, the product is characterized by a modern approach to data management” says Schmittmann. The control of the measuring device through a mobile app and the connection with a web platform allow additional services and business models.

Lucille Bonnet, investment manager at HTGF is convinced: “bentekk with its X-PID has developed a mobile, accurate, fast and cost-effective solution, which is new to the market. We see great potential and benefits for various industries based on this technology platform.”

Gencer Sahin, investment manager at IFH, adds: “X-PID closes a gap in the market for mobile gas chromatography. The measurement instrument is the only existing portable solution on the market that is able to detect the always stricter regulatory threshold values for benzene.”

The funding is used to develop a second product version to be certified for the use in potentially explosive gas atmospheres, to strengthen direct sales in Germany and build an international distribution network.

About the company bentekk GmbH The company was founded in November 2014 as a spin-off of the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH). bentekk develops selective measurement technologies for the determination of contaminants on-site. In January 2016, the team led by chemical engineer Matthias Schmittmann and the industrial engineer Johannes Weber entered the market with the product X-PID by selling and renting instruments to industrial companies. bentekk was funded by the BMWi program EXIST-Gründerstipendium and the program InnoRampUp by the Investitions- und Förderbank Hamburg (IFB).

Press contact:
bentekk GmbH
Johannes Weber
Kasernenstraße 12
21073 Hamburg
Tel.: +49 40 57 13 63 57
j.weber@bentekk.com
www.bentekk.com

About Innovationsstarter Fonds Hamburg
The Innovationsstarter Fonds Hamburg provides venture capital to young and innovative companies with its place of business in Hamburg. Aim is to strengthen research and development activities. Open participation in limited liability companies can reach up to 1 million Euros. Investors are in equal shares the city of Hamburg and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The fund volume is currently 12 million Euros. The management of the fund is the IFB Innovationsstarter GmbH which is a 100% owned subsidiary of the Hamburgischen Investitions- und Förderbank.

For more information visit www.innovationsstarter.com

Contact:
IFB Innovationsstarter GmbH
Gencer Sahin
Tel.: +49 40 65 79 805 – 96
sahin@innovationsstarter.com
www.innovationsstarter.com

About High-Tech Gründerfonds
High-Tech Gruenderfonds invests in young, high potential high-tech start-ups. The seed financing provided is designed to enable start-ups to take an idea through prototyping and to market launch. Typically, High-Tech Gruenderfonds invests EUR 600,000 in the seed stage, with the potential for up to a total of EUR 2 million per portfolio company in follow-on financing. Investors in this public/private partnership include the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy, the KfW Banking Group, as well as strategic corporate investors including ALTANA, BASF, Bayer, B. Braun, Robert Bosch, CEWE, Daimler, Deutsche Post DHL, Deutsche Telekom, Evonik, Lanxess, media + more venture Beteiligungs GmbH & Co. KG, METRO, Qiagen, RWE Innogy, SAP, Tengelmann and Carl Zeiss. High-Tech Gruenderfonds has about EUR 576 million under management in two funds (EUR 272 million HTGF I, EUR 304 million HTGF II).

For more information visit www.high-tech-gruenderfonds.de

Contact:
High-Tech Gründerfonds Management GmbH
Lucille Bonnet
Tel.: + 49 228 82 300-134
l.bonnet@htgf.de
www.high-tech-gruenderfonds.de