In milestone business achievement, Vaud startup Nu Glass has won over the Swiss railway company (CFF). Work for this mandate started in July 2023 for a period of about 10-12 months. 40 InterCity trains representing about 5700 glasses will get the laser treatment to improve mobile connectivity.
Contacted by Startupticker.ch, CEO and founder Luc Burnier explains: “At Nu Glass, we offer a solution to improve mobile connectivity on trains by making existing windows permeable to telecommunications frequencies. Our laser technology, developed at EPFL, is applied directly on site, eliminating the need to dismantle windows. Nu Glass' solution ensures optimum network access for passengers. »
One year ago, the EPFL spin-off successfully conducted with the CFF a test of its portable system that makes the windowpanes on railcars permeable to mobile communications. The solution brings significant environmental and cost benefits to railway companies and mobile-phone operators, since they’ll no longer have to install signal boosters to provide wireless connectivity for passengers. One repeater consumes as much electricity as a four-person Swiss household.
Growing demand in Switzerland and abroad
Luc Burnier explains that Nu Glass has a lot of requests for is solution, which is arousing more and more interest from railway companies in Switzerland and abroad. Two European railway companies are also interested in their offer. Based in Nyon, Nu Glass stems from Andreas Schüler's laboratory at EPFL. Currently 8 people work for the startup that expects to double its workforce by mid-2024 to keep up with demand.
(ES)
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