qCella provides ultra‑thin, flexible heating mats made from copper‑functionalized cellulose fibers that deliver radiation‑based cabin heating for electric vehicles. The mats improve heating efficiency by up to 50% and can extend vehicle range by 10–25% in cold weather, while being produced with low‑cost, scalable paper‑making processes and customizable to any interior surface. The same copper‑cellulose composite can also serve as a conductive additive for specialty paper and polymer compounds, enabling applications such as electromagnetic shielding and low‑maintenance process heating.
Funding
$1.4M raised to dateRaised to date based on public sources. This may differ from the amount the company actually raised and is based only on what is publicly available on the internet.
Founders
Product
Problem
Electric vehicles lose 15–30% of driving range in winter because conventional cabin heating heats the entire interior using battery power, which is inefficient and energy‑intensive.
Solution
qCella offers a radiation heating technology based on copper‑functionalized cellulose fibers that can be produced as ultra‑thin, flexible heating mats. The mats are applied directly to interior surfaces, delivering heat by radiation rather than convective air heating, which improves cabin heating efficiency by up to 50% and can extend vehicle range by 10–25%. The material is manufactured using standard paper‑making processes, allowing low‑cost, scalable production and custom shaping to fit any vehicle interior geometry. In addition to automotive applications, the copper‑cellulose composite can serve as an electrically conductive additive for specialty paper and polymer compounds, enabling uses such as electromagnetic shielding or process heating in food and filtration industries.
Target Audience
Primary customers are electric‑vehicle manufacturers seeking to improve cabin heating efficiency, as well as specialty paper producers and polymer compound manufacturers interested in conductive, heat‑generating additives.
Features
- Paper‑thin, lightweight heating mat that conforms to any surface shape or size
- Radiation‑based heating delivers up to 50% higher efficiency compared to conventional cabin heaters
- Extends electric‑vehicle driving range by an estimated 10–25% in cold conditions
- Produced with scalable, cost‑effective paper manufacturing techniques using copper‑coated cellulose fibers
- Customizable post‑fabrication to match specific vehicle interior designs
- Copper‑cellulose composite can be used as a conductive additive for specialty paper and polymer compounds (e.g., electromagnetic shielding)
- Enables low‑maintenance heating solutions for food processing and adsorption‑desorption applications