Measurement instrumentation specialist for wind turbines closes financing round for further scaling of business

UnternehmerTUM Fund, High-Tech Gründerfonds, Bayern Kapital and Dr. Schulze Consulting invest further in fos4X GmbH. fos4X has established itself as a provider of innovative solutions to increase the efficiency of wind turbines.

fos4X is using the advantages of fiber optic technology to make wind turbines smarter and wind energy more cost-effective. The company developed solutions to measure bending moments of wind turbine rotor blades.

fos4X has become the leading provider of fiber optic technology for the wind industry. The proprietary fiber optic technology improves monitoring of technical structures and constructions especially those made of new materials such as fiber reinforced plastics and resins.

Dr. Ingo Potthof of UnternehmerTUM Fund, the lead-investor of this round, asserts: “fos4X has grown outstandingly since our first investment. Using the new capital we will finance the strong growth and the extension of the company’s product portfolio. Dr. Gisbert Schulze, former CEO of SSB Wind Systems GmbH and first client of fos4X, explains: “The technology and the team convinced me from the very beginning. The first attempts on a wind turbine were very promising. At this point I decided to be a part of this as a business angel and contribute to the success of fos4X.”

Dr. Guillem Sague, Investment Manager at High-Tech Gründerfonds, explains: “For years fiber optical measurement was considered unsuitable for industrial applications. fos4X has convinced international manufacturers of wind turbines of the advantages of its technology.”

Wolfgang Härtl, Bayern Kapital, about the investment: “The founders of fos4X were able to successfully prove the capability of their technology during the last year. We are very happy to further support the company in its growth with our second round of financing.”

Dr. Lars Hoffmann, CEO of fos4X, predicts: “Until end of 2020 three out of four wind turbines will be equipped with smart sensor technology. This makes it possible to realize new concepts for wind energy generation and helps to tap large efficiency potentials along the value chain.”

fos4X
fos4X develops and sells monitoring and control solutions for wind turbines. The technology is based on their innovative fiber optic measurement for rotor blades plus their deep knowledge in wind generation.

Contact:
fos4X GmbH
Dr. Lars Hoffmann
Thalkirchnerstraße 210
81371 München
Tel. +49 (89) 999542-45
lars.hoffmann@fos4X.de
www.fos4X.de

UnternehmerTUM Fund UnternehmerTUM Fund provides venture capital for young high technology companies in the industry sectors Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), Medical Engineering and CleanTech. UnternehmerTUM Fund offers to the portfolio companies a wealth of experience in strategic and operative business development and a unique network encompassing industry partners and other venture capital investors.

EIF, ERP und CIP UnternehmerTUM Fund is being supported by the European Investment Fund (EIF), the European Union by means of the general program for competitive ability and innovation as well as by ERP-EIF and LfA-EIF.

Contact:
UnternehmerTUM-Fonds Management GmbH
Sabine Hansky
Lichtenbergstraße 8
85748 Garching (Munich)
Tel: +49 (89) 32 46 24 365
hansky@unternehmertum.de
www.unternehmertum.de/vc

Bayern Kapital
Bayern Kapital was founded in 1995 by the Bavarian State Government in means of the campaign “Future Bavaria” especially in order to support young Bavarian enterprises with equity capital. So far, Bayern Kapital invested € 188 million  in 221 innovative high-tech companies. Bayern Kapital is managing a fund of in total € 200 million.

Contact:
Bayern Kapital GmbH
Wolfgang Härtl
Ländgasse 135 a
84028 Landshut
Tel: +49 (871) 92325-0
Fax: +49 (871) 92325-55
info@bayernkapital.de
www.bayernkapital.de

Dr. Schulze Consulting und Holding GmbH
Dr. Schulze Consulting und Holding GmbH invests in small and medium size businesses in the fields of engineering, energy, automation and related branches. The goal is to commonly help the enterprises to develop itself. Dr. Schulze assumes roles in the board of directors, the advisory board or coaching positions. The supporting activities focus on market and product strategy, sales, research and development, establishing organizational structures and increasing the operational efficiency. The goal is to be part of a long-term development of the companies.

Contact:
Dr. Schulze Consulting und Holding GmbH
Dr.-Ing. Gisbert Schulze
Ellmaierstraße 40
83022 Rosenheim
Tel: +49 (8031) 9080242
info@dr-schulze-consulting.de

High-Tech Gründerfonds
High-Tech Gründerfonds invests in young, high potential high-tech startups. The seed financing provided is designed to enable startups to take an idea through prototyping and to market launch. Typically, High-Tech Gründerfonds invests EUR 500,000 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 Technology, the KfW Banking Group, as well as strategic corporate investors including ALTANA, BASF, B. Braun, Robert Bosch, CEWE Color, 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 Gründerfonds has about EUR 573.5 million under management in two funds (EUR 272 million HTGF I, EUR 301.5 million HTGF II).

Contact:
High-Tech Gründerfonds Management GmbH
Dr. Guillem Sague
Schlegelstraße 2
53113 Bonn
Tel: +49 (228) 823 001-00
Fax: +49 (228) 823 000-50
info@high-tech-gruenderfonds.de
www.high-tech-gruenderfonds.de