PORTFOLIO

In Switzerland alone, approximately 200,000 patients depend on temperature-sensitive medication that must be stored at 2–8 °C, including insulin, various other biologics against autoimmune diseases, and hormone treatments. This creates significant barriers both for distribution and for patients who want to travel.
Today's solutions fall short in three ways. Insulated bags and boxes with phase change material (cool packs) hold their temperature only for a limited time and cannot be recharged on the move. Low-cost thermoelectric coolers typically run for around eight hours on a battery and lose control precisely when it matters most — at high ambient temperatures. And most solutions offer no temperature logging, so patients have no proof that their medication is still safe to use. The consequences reach beyond individual inconvenience: in many parts of the world where local infrastructure cannot support an uninterrupted cold chain, access to vital medication remains limited altogether. For patients, the result is restricted freedom, constant stress, and real health risks whenever they travel.
A preceding master's thesis, conducted as a collaboration between the IET at Ostschweizer Fachhochschule and the TEEL at the University of Tokyo, developed a compressor-free active cooling technology that addresses exactly these limitations. Laboratory prototypes show that it can cool actively and precisely even at ambient temperatures well above 30 °C, and sustain this for several days on battery power — in a portable format comparable to a thermal flask. The two efficiency barriers that have so far kept this class of cooling out of portable products were solved in the process, opening the way to a product that benefits patients and enables more equal access to temperature-sensitive goods worldwide.
The goal of this First Ventures project is to integrate the technology into a minimum viable product: a portable cooler that demonstrates the concept to industry and investors and paves the way for commercialization. The vision is to give patients back the freedom to travel anywhere, for any length of time, without risk or stress. By anchoring R&D, assembly, and quality control in Switzerland, the project creates domestic value and gives Swiss partner companies a stronger position in the growing market for portable cold chain solutions.

The core technology, developed in the preceding master's thesis, makes it possible for the first time to cool actively and precisely even at ambient temperatures above 30 °C, and to do so for several days — in a portable thermal-flask format holding 0.5 to 5 litres. This closes the gap left by today's cool packs and low-cost thermoelectric coolers, which either lose control at high ambient temperatures or run out of battery after a few hours.
Up to the first interim report, the project follows four steps: the laboratory results of the master's thesis are reproduced and confirmed on a dedicated test bench; the cooling technology is then optimized for efficiency and robustness; the optimized technology is integrated into a functional demonstrator; and this demonstrator is used to validate the business case with users and industry partners and to approach investors.
The defined vision is a B2C product that solves the cooling problem for patients with autoimmune diseases and other conditions requiring temperature-sensitive medication. Beyond this first application, discussions are being sought with partners in adjacent segments: logistics providers looking for a traceable cooling solution for small quantities, organisations delivering vaccines on the last mile in hot climates with limited infrastructure, and pharmacies aiming to retain their biologics customers and to offer home delivery.
In addition to the First Ventures grant, the project has been awarded an Innosuisse BRIDGE Fellowship. Applications to the Ypsomed Innovation Award and to the next stage of the Gebert Rüf First Ventures programme are planned. Depending on technical and commercial readiness, the project will subsequently be continued through a pre-seed or seed financing round.