ValCUN raises 1.5 million for further development of novel 3D metal printing technology
ValCUN has raised 1.5 million euros in capital for the further development of its patented 3D metal printing technology. Founders Jonas Galle and Jan De Pauw intend to make 3D metal printing “accessible and economically competitive”. “Even Google and Tesla are potential customers,” the ambition sounds.
Durable and patented 3D metal printer
ValCUN has raised 1.5 million euros for the further development of its metal 3D printing technology. In addition to PMV and VLAIO, various business angels believe in the innovative technology.
In contrast to most of the existing technologies, ValCUN does not use lasers nor metal powder technology. A more efficient heat input results in considerable energy savings and shape requirements for the filler material are non-existent. As a result, wire, granulates, residual flows, andeven recycled metal and previously printed parts are suitable as raw material.
With these qualities, the start-up aims at making 3D metal printing economically competitive for all actors in the manufacturing industry. The patent application for the technology – approved late 2020 – and the printed demonstration parts, convinced the investors. “ValCUN has touched me with its passion, people and technology: a team with ambition and a drive for innovation, and a potentially groundbreaking metal 3D print technology “, says private investor Piet D’Haeyer.
“The COVID-19 pandemic made it challenging to raise capital, but the approval for additional financing will allow us to further expand our activities”, said CEO and co-founder Jonas Galle.
Realizing global ambitions
ValCUN already has several pilot projects in the pipeline. The prototype machine will be finetuned to meet the needs of target applications such as near-net-shape products and heat exchangers – crucial for tomorrow’s batteries. This will put ValCUN in pole position as a supplier for the growing electric vehicles market. The increasing need for higher energy density and performance is also an opportunity: it has a major impact on the need for cooling of the components. In addition, the founders look at the potential in IT infrastructure – with an increased need for heat exchangers for data centers.
“We didn’t take the easy road, developing a new technology and new hardware simultaneously – a combination that many investors are opposed to. We are steadily pursuing our sky-high ambitions by thinking globally and we see potential at renowned companies such as Google and Tesla. From the outset, we have positioned ourselves as an international company. To implement this vision, we are currently looking for business / customer development and engineering talents”, co-founder Jan De Pauw concludes.
About ValCUN
ValCUN was founded by the Ghent entrepreneurs Eng.D. Jonas Galle and Eng.D. Jan De Pauw. The start-up developed a sustainable and competitive 3D metal printing technology for series production. Since its inception, ValCUN has been welcomed by various accelerators such as SOkwadraat, Start it @KBC and Bryo. In 2019, the start-up hired its first employee, Eng.D. Moshen Saadatmand, and recently the team was expanded with Eng. Antal Decugnier. By the end of 2022, ValCUN aims at a 9-FTE team.