How revolutionary can a new type of floor drain in a bathroom really be? More than one might think – the innovation from Umeå can have crucial positive effects on the Earth's climate and the way we use resources. Sweden's energy savings could equate to what a nuclear reactor produces annually. It is no wonder that Enduce is considered one of Sweden's 33 hottest tech startups.
Henrik Hagman is one of the founders of Enduce and the innovator behind the floor drain, which, according to independent measurements, is the world's most energy-efficient, recovering 75 percent of energy with each shower. This is energy from hot water that typically just gets flushed down the drain and wasted.
The solution is based on a 100-year proven and well-developed technology for heat recovery – the plate heat exchanger. Enduce has developed five patented technologies to enable and improve the use of the plate heat exchanger in shower applications. They also have patents in India and China and have already received inquiries from these two giant markets.
Enduce has enhanced existing technology and created an energy-saving floor drain. In the image are Henrik Hagman and Gustav Svensson.
Enduce's technology makes the entire integration highly efficient, allowing heat recovery from shower water before it is flushed into the drain. This means much less hot water needs to be added for showers, resulting in substantial energy savings.
Enduce has captured the attention of many and has been recognized as one of the most exciting innovations today. So, it was no coincidence when the company was selected by the magazine Ny Teknik this winter as one of Sweden's hottest startups, earning a spot on the prestigious 33-list.
– It's very exciting, especially for us who are interested in technology. We've kept an eye on that list over the years and found it quite cool. Historically, many companies have appeared there first and then gone on to success, so it feels great to showcase Enduce a bit more on a national level, says Henrik.
The companies on the list are evaluated to have developed an innovative solution to a complex problem, with the potential to change the rules within the area they operate, both locally and internationally. Looking at previous lists, names like Spotify, iZettle, and Northvolt come to mind.
Enduce has several investors backing them, and the Swedish Energy Agency, among others, sees significant potential in their technology and has invested funds.
In Sweden alone, hot water equivalent to 7 billion SEK (approximately 7 TWh) is flushed down shower drains each year without energy recovery.
– The shower is the biggest energy culprit in most households. Successfully optimizing buildings is crucial for how we will achieve the climate goals. The EU and IPCC, among others, have identified energy consumption in properties as a significant problem and are pushing for new opportunities for energy efficiency, so our solution is perfectly timed, says Henrik.
Right now, a lot is happening for Enduce – the company is in the process of moving from Uminova Innovations' premises at Umeå University to an industrial space on Lärlingsgatan 22 in Teg. Here, they have the right kind of spaces to handle the company's needs.
And it is intriguing to speculate about how significant the needs could become in the future for Enduce.
– 80 percent of the world's energy supply is fossil, with existing political incentives and actual transition rates; we still have an estimated 60 percent fossil share in the global energy mix by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency, World Energy Outlook 2022. To transition from fossil to sustainable societies, we need not only to phase out the fossil need for the energy sector but also a carbon source for the production of various product types like construction materials, packaging, and colors, and this only renewable carbon source – biomass – we burn today for us to shower and heat inefficient buildings, says Henrik, referring to district heating production.
As a researcher in energy technology at Umeå University and a technical specialist in the process industry, he is not afraid to criticize how Swedish energy and climate policy looks today.
– We are very good at "greenwashing," especially district heating and the extraction of forest resources, and we prefer not to complicate the production and use of district heating in Sweden. It is mainly carbon-neutral according to EU's definitions, but the EU reprimands us for excessive extraction of forest fuels and inadequate protection for valuable forests and biodiversity. The global average for resource consumption is two Earths per year, but Sweden consumes resources for four Earths, so by April, we have consumed what the Earth can give us. We need more sensible resource use and stop exploiting forests and land; those are some of the underlying thoughts I have, says Henrik.
After many years of product development and verification, Enduce's energy-recovering floor drain has been on the market for about a month. The first deliveries are scheduled for the first quarter of 2024. Currently, the final refinements are being made in the production process to ensure consistent high quality, reliability, and a long lifespan. The floor drain is also designed to be fully repairable, so regardless of what happens, components can be replaced without affecting the waterproofing or the overall bathroom installation.
Enduce's floor drain opens up for significant energy savings.
The shower application currently has a price of 20,000 SEK, including VAT, and is aimed at property owners involved in new constructions and renovations of shower spaces, as well as homeowners.
– The vision is for the floor drain to become the new standard; we emphasize the resource savings it brings, reducing energy consumption for a shower by up to three-quarters. In a family like mine, consisting of five people, we have a financial return of over 20 percent per year, which is a fantastic investment. If our technology were to spread within OECD countries, the potential is enormous; it could eliminate the equivalent of several nations' total carbon dioxide emissions, says Henrik.
The parts are exclusively manufactured in Europe based on the expertise, quality, and cost structure available. A skilled sheet metal workshop outside Vilnius, a rubber hose manufacturer in Småland, brass details from Europe's brass hub in Italy, and plastic production in Skellefteå – to name a few of the suppliers. Some pre-assembly takes place in Umeå, but most of the final assembly is done at the customer's location.
– For us who have worked for a long time to make the technology accessible, it feels fantastic every time a new mass-produced component arrives on the desk; it's indeed a significant step in the process. However, complete satisfaction will not be achieved until the product is rolled out in volume, we achieve profitability, and sustainability is ensured. That's the major challenge in the phase we are in now. The more we sell, the more sustainable the world becomes. Not all companies can say the same, says Henrik.
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International Business Developer
nina.rismalm@umea.se +46 70 256 82 84Umeå
International Business Developer
helena.nasstrom@ri.se +46 73 275 10 83Örnsköldsvik
