Cetasol funding news – Greentech Startup Cetasol Raises €2Million in Seed Funding

The new funding by Sarsia (Norway), ShipsFocus (Singapore), and Impact X Capital (United Kingdom) will enable Cetasol to expand its market reach and enhance its innovative product offerings. By doubling R&D, and investing in optimizing software development, it will move towards volume sales of the products.

Maritime sustainability is more relevant than ever, with operations needing to consider this to future-proof their operations. Given the tightening regulatory landscape and increasingly ambitious IMO objectives, optimizing energy utilization becomes imperative.

The expense associated with fuel has experienced a twofold increase since 2002, resulting in augmented operational costs and diminishing profit margins. Approximately 30-50% of maritime organizations' operating expenses comprise fuel expenditures.

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In many operations, there is also a matter of insights where most operations lack a full overview of the actions and outcomes. They are not certain how to reduce CO2 and don't know what actions to take or what impact it has.

It is a greentech startup was founded to resolve these problems. Ethan Faghani, Cetasol’s founder, previously held the position of Chief Engineer of AI and automation at Volvo Penta. Identifying fluctuations attributable to human factors, he realized that by mitigating these variances, fuel savings of 10-25% were attainable. The intelligent decision support platform iHelm was born, and given its brand-independent nature, it emerged as an independent startup in 2020.

Since securing its first investment from Volvo Penta and others in 2021, the company has made significant progress. With installations worldwide, it provides its intelligent decision support solution, iHelm, to increase insights, manage operations, and optimize energy consumption.

This latest funding round, featuring contributions from esteemed investors including Sarsia, ShipsFocus, and Impact X Capital, marks a pivotal moment in Cetasol’s journey. The investment underscores strong confidence in it’s mission to deliver sustainable and cutting-edge energy solutions to the maritime sector. The investors are based in different parts of the world, showcasing Cetasol's ambition for worldwide reach.

Jon-Kåre Hansen, Partner at Sarsia said, “What we see in Cetasol is AI/ML driven technology to route and fuel optimization, based on deep engine know-how from Volvo, a team with a drive to build the business, and in a setting where new regulations are coming from EU and IMO for the mid-size vessel market. What you get is real and substantial fuel savings for the marine sector, an important part of the green shift. We look forward to working with the team and partners to scale the business worldwide."

Chye Poh Chua, General Partner of ShipsFocus Ventures said, “This investment is about the 3 core foundations of sustainability, technology and scale that Cetasol is built upon. We particularly like Ethan as a talented and rare technologist with a flexible mind and unique ability to solve problems applying commercial simplicity and operational tenacity. His clear vision, strong attitude and global ambition for Cetasol compelled our team to say “Yes!”.”

Paula Groves, Impact X Chief Investment Officer said, "Impact X is excited to partner with Cetasol which leverages AI and ML to help small and medium sized ships find the fastest most fuel-efficient route to their destination, resulting in fuel cost savings of 10 to 25%. Cetasol’s staff is 40% female, demonstrating that diverse teams can deliver outsized results which positively impact sustainability and the world."

Ethan Faghani, CEO and Founder of Cetasol commented on the investment “With this global investment, we have shown the range of Cetasol and iHelm. The impact of our solution is noticeable globally and can impact maritime sustainability in operations all over the world. We have shown the potential of iHelm and with this investment we are able to take Cetasol to the next level, we are ready to scale up.”

About Cetasol

Sweden-based Startup, Cetasol is a technology leader specializing in energy management solutions for the maritime industry. Founded on the principles of innovation, efficiency, and sustainability, Cetasol is dedicated to transforming the maritime sector through advanced technology that promotes energy conservation and operational efficiency.