Startup Tales | Novac, the startup innovating energy storage with supercaps

Founded in 2020 by four young engineers, this innovative company develops next-generation pouch supercapacitors capable of storing energy safely, efficiently, and sustainably, while delivering stable power peaks. From automotive to aerospace, including marine, drones, and micro-mobility, this green technology complements traditional batteries and offers diversified market opportunities.

Founded in 2020 in Modena by four young engineers, Novac is a startup positioned in a strategic niche of the energy storage market, developing next-generation pouch-format supercapacitors, the so-called supercaps, capable of storing limited amounts of energy but delivering stable power peaks without degradation.

A patented technology that overcomes the limits of traditional batteries, with applications ranging from sports vehicles to electric or hybrid cars, from aerospace to electric boats, all the way to urban micromobility and drones, opening new perspectives in terms of performance and sustainability.

After a research and development phase, Novac is accelerating its market entry, combining technological innovation, partnerships, and investments. At the core of this journey lies an approach designed to make energy storage safer and more efficient, integrating supercaps into structural parts of vehicles and devices, with applications across all sectors where power peaks and longevity are essential

How the idea of Novac was born

The cofounders’ background and the launch of the entrepreneurial initiative

Novac was born as a university project in 2018 from the initiative of four young engineers, all under 30 at the time: Matteo Bertocchi, CEO specialized in Vehicle Engineering; Loris Bruzi, COO specialized in Electronics Engineering; Alessandro Fabbri, CIO, also specialized in Vehicle Engineering; and Aldo Grimonte, CTO and materials engineer.

Selected to participate in the first edition of the Training for Automotive Companies Creation (T.A.C.C.) program at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Reggio Emilia and Modena, the four met and initially developed a rather generic idea: distributing energy storage across the bodywork of electric cars. From there, the project evolved and took shape, leading in 2020 to the founding of Novac, with the work focused on supercapacitors, known as supercaps.

The first steps in automotive

A solution designed to handle power peaks, such as sudden accelerations, highly performing and suitable for multiple applications, which in the early years of the scaleup focused mainly on the automotive sector.

Between 2020 and 2022, Novac refined its idea by participating in numerous acceleration and incubation programs, including the Motor Valley Accelerator in Modena in 2021.

“A fundamental experience for our growth journey, which on the one hand opened up an important network with automotive companies, and on the other helped us to refine the presentation of our value proposition, thus giving a strong boost to our entrepreneurial initiative,” explains Bertocchi.

What Novac’s technology is and how it works

Novac’s technology is based on next-generation pouch-format supercaps, manufactured without the use of critical raw materials to ensure safety and sustainability. The combination of high power, ultra-fast charging, and extremely long lifespan (over 500,000 cycles) makes the supercapacitors developed by the innovative Modena-based company ideal for all applications requiring high power peaks.

In this regard, supercaps improve the efficiency of traditional batteries and extend their useful life, as they allow them to operate under more stable and optimal conditions. “Unlike batteries, which store large amounts of energy, supercapacitors store less, but they are able to deliver power peaks without degrading over time,” emphasizes the scaleup’s CEO.

Novac’s proprietary and patented technology can be integrated into electric or hybrid systems in the automotive, aerospace, maritime, and industrial sectors: a potential market with an estimated value of around €6.5 billion.

“Our innovation positions itself within the already existing supercap segment, with the development of a pouch-format cell, meaning a particularly thin and compact bag-type cell capable of withstanding high temperatures,” explains the CEO of the scaleup. “While the cells currently on the market reach up to 80°C,” he continues, “ours operate in a more extreme range, between -40°C and 120°C, and stand out for their ability to be integrated directly into the surfaces of cars, satellites, and boats, thus significantly reducing space requirements.”

Moreover, thanks to applications in hybrid cars where supercaps can replace traditional lead starter motors, Novac’s technology presents itself as a sustainable alternative for the automotive sector as a whole, without being limited to e-mobility.

The first concrete application of Novac’s supercaps

Thanks to its participation in the Motor Valley Accelerator, Novac initiated a significant collaboration with the well-known racing sports car manufacturer Dallara, creating the first complete prototype of its innovation. “A bodywork component for an IndyCar category vehicle that integrated ten supercaps, through which we demonstrated that our technology can actually be incorporated into vehicles and work,” explains Bertocchi.

Expanding the horizon to the aerospace sector

In 2023, another crucial step in Novac’s growth took shape: incubation at I3P – Incubator of Innovative Enterprises of the Polytechnic University of Turin – within the ESA BIC Turin program. The program, managed by I3P with the technological support of the Polytechnic of Turin and the LINKS Foundation, in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI), marked a turning point for the scaleup’s prospects.

“The two-year program, which ended in July 2025, allowed us to enter the aerospace market and receive support both in building a network and in thoroughly understanding the many specificities of this sector,” explains Bertocchi.

With its participation in ESA BIC Turin, the aerospace market became a true priority for the Modena-based scaleup, effectively standing alongside automotive. “We also took part in trade fairs in the United States and in international acceleration programs such as Space It Up, together with other Italian startups,” says Novac’s cofounder.

The role of Intesa Sanpaolo and Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center in Novac’s growth

Participation in Up2Stars

In this intense growth phase, Novac was selected in the fourth call of the Up2Stars program, dedicated to “IoT (Internet of Things) - Infrastructure and Mobility”: an acceleration path born from the collaboration between Intesa Sanpaolo and Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, with the support of the innovation platform Gellify.

“A particularly useful experience,” highlights Bertocchi, “because at that stage we had different needs compared to, for example, those of the Motor Valley Accelerator. In this sense, Up2Stars proved flexible in providing us with what we needed, with mentoring support calibrated to our real requirements.”

The acceleration program in Silicon Valley

Subsequently, the Modena-based scaleup seized the opportunity to travel to Silicon Valley in September 2024 for the special acceleration program organized by Intesa Sanpaolo in collaboration with INNOVIT (Italian Innovation and Culture Hub) and Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center. A valuable opportunity to promote the excellence of Italian innovation within the most competitive and dynamic ecosystem globally.

“We had already been to Silicon Valley, but at the time we were not ready to engage with potential U.S. investors. This time, however, we had the chance to interact with a venture capital market that moves capital much more rapidly,” stresses Novac’s CEO.

Participation in the call 4 ideas In Action ESG CLIMATE 2024

The fruitful collaboration with Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center offered Novac not only visibility, but also the opportunity to expand its network with Intesa Sanpaolo’s client companies.

aunched by Life companies of the Intesa Sanpaolo Assicurazioni Group (Intesa Sanpaolo Assicurazioni and Fideuram Vita) in collaboration with Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, with the aim of providing support concrete economic development to companies bringing innovative solutions, capable of promoting a significant impact towards the transition ecological and towards a greener and more sustainable world, creating value for our country.

In its third edition, In Action ESG awarded the four most innovative projects with a significant impact in support of the ecological transition, among the 140 applications received in the sectors of Sustainable and Renewable Energy, Blue Economy, Smart Manufacturing, Agritech, and Sustainable Lifestyle, awarding Novac second place with a prize of €150,000.

“We had already participated in other competitions, but in terms of amount and number of applications, this was one of the most challenging. To achieve second place, we focused on environmental impact: how green it can be to replace a lithium battery with a supercap across multiple fields,” clarifies Bertocchi.

The investment round with the involvement of Galaxia

Another crucial step for the Modena-based startup arrived in 2025, with the addition of a new milestone in its growth path: the closing of a €3.5 million seed investment round, led by Eureka! Venture together with CDP Venture Capital and the Aerospace Technology Transfer Hub Galaxia, of which Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center is a partner.

“This round was closed also thanks to the prestigious result achieved by participating in In Action ESG, which allowed us to anticipate investments in the production line and, in particular, financed a pre-pilot line that we are setting up after the closing of the deal,” highlights the CEO of the Modena-based startup.

The team growth

An equally significant aspect concerns the expansion of the team, which grew from the four cofounders of 2020 to the current thirteen people.

“Most of the team is technical, with a strong focus on electrochemistry and chemistry for the development of our cells. In addition, we have professionals dedicated to engineering and mechanical electronics, in order to support customers and accurately simulate the benefits that supercaps can bring to an existing system, whether it’s a satellite or a car,” specifies Bertocchi.
 

The future of Novac, between market prospects and long-term ambitions

After achieving important milestones, Novac has clear plans for the future. “In 2025 we focused on our market debut, and by the end of the year we will complete the setup of our pilot line financed with the Seed round closed at the beginning of the year,” emphasizes the CEO of the startup.

Currently, the main focus is on the Italian market, where Novac aims to establish new partnerships across its business sectors. Looking ahead, however, it will also concentrate on international business development. “For automotive, we are paying great attention to Europe, while in aerospace our interest is mainly focused on America. Furthermore, in the long term we are also evaluating data center power grids in order to stabilize them. In any case, over the next two years we will focus on these two sectors,” concludes Matteo Bertocchi.