EnOcean

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EnOcean GmbH is a spin-off company of Siemens AG founded in 2001. It is a German company headquartered in Oberhaching, near Munich. Venture capital firms as Wellington Partners, 3i, SAM Private Equity, enjoyventure Management, Siemens Venture Capital, and BayTech Venture Capital provide financing. It currently employs 25 staff.

[edit] Technology

The company has developed a completely novel technology that is based on the efficient exploitation of slightest changes in the environmental energy using the principles of energy harvesting. In order to transform such energy fluctuations into usable electrical energy, piezogenerators, solar cells, thermocouples, and other energy converters are used. The company’s products are battery-less and wireless radio sensors and radio switches that need no maintenance during their whole lifetime. The signals of these sensors and switches can be transmitted across a distance up to 300 metres.

Put very simply, it is now possible to have wireless remote switches controlling, for example, wireless light switches that don't require batteries. This makes the actual light switch itself maintenance free, and simple to install - in many cases simply glued to the wall's surface. Wiring is reduced, installation costs reduced, and switches can now be installed in places where there may have been safety issues (e.g. bathrooms). These switches are already finding applications as shower remote controls for example.

This technology enables a wireless community of batteryless sensors to connect to just a few transceivers that need to be powered for continuous operation. Therefore it can be easily used for wireless mesh networking (nonstandard mesh protocol).

All switch signals or the information gathered by the sensors are transmitted with utmost reliability – unwanted interference with other signals can be completely excluded.

EnOcean products are already used in, for example, building automation, the automotive industry (replacement of the conventional battery in tyre pressure sensors), and logistics.

The company was awarded the Bavarian Innovation Prize 2002 in June of that year for its globally unique technology.

In December 2005, EnOcean was selected as "Technology Pioneer 2006" by the renowned World Economic Forum.