Green tech innovator Cetasol raises €2M seed round for seed funding

Cetasol, gathered just recently as an innovative technology company that drives revolution in saving energy in the marine industry, announced the successful completion of €2M of seed funding. Cetasol raises €2M seed round funding from Sarsia, ShipsFocus, and Impact X Capital, together with the continued support of our existing shareholders, will help as Cetasol raises €2M seed round funding and Cetasol strengthen its market position and further develop its product range. Cetasol, by replicating technology and optimizing software development, will push toward a mass production scale of products as Cetasol raises €2M seed round funding.

The significance of maritime sustainability needs to be adequately confronted, as this will go a long way in conserving the operations of many companies for the future. In this respect, more advanced energy management is essential, considering the context of enhanced regulations and tougher IMO targets. During the period starting with 2002 up to today, there has been a 2-times increase in the cost of fuel to the services operators, and this has resulted in increased operational costs and reduced profit margins. As green-tech innovator, Cetasol raises €2M seed round funding, about 30 to 50 percent of maritime organizations' operating costs are caused by fuel costs. Nonetheless, in many of the operations, there is also an issue of insights, where enterprises do not have a complete view of the actions and results. They are not sure how to cut CO2 and do not know what they should do or what circularity of actions they may achieve.

Vestas struggled with these issues, and Cetasol developed. Ethan Faghani, who is the founder of Cetasol, has experience as Chief Engineer overseeing the automation and AI at Volvo Penta before. Through this exercise, he was able to pinpoint the cause of fluctuations that have been attributed to human factors, and by tackling these issues, he realized that fuel savings of 10-25% are attainable. An intelligent decision support platform, iHelm, was then formed, and it is interchangeable with different brands of Cetasol. Revolving around it started as an independent startup in 2020.

The inteligent iHelm solution

The business secured its first investment through Volvo Penta and others in 2021, and it has gained traction ever since. Cetasol, with its installations scattered around the world, harnesses iHelm, its intelligent decision-support tool, to provide insights, manage operations, and optimize energy consumption. For the last couple of years, our product has been in development. From Q4 2023, it moved from the pilot phase to market-ready for fleet purchase, which is the base for the growth and sales in large volumes.

Cetasol's most important product is the iHelm platform, an AI-based decision support mechanism for more significant insights and emission reduction through efficient energy consumption. iHelm is compatible with any engine, no matter the brand or driveline. The goal of iHelm is to make being green easier with active analytics and real-time actionable support.

iHelm is designed with three components: PC, onboard, and cloud. The captain (on board) has the privilege of viewing various speeds and directional tracks for CO2 emission reduction on our Captain Display. iHelm pulls together all the data from the ship, its engines, and its surroundings and sends it to our cloud. The cloud crew will have all the data available for managers and owners, which will be analyzed and presented in an actionable way. Such reports and ready-built emissions can be downloaded. However, to do it all, we need to be mindful of saving time and making the right sustainable decision.

iHelm is advanced model-based data and AI knowledge that replace the need for vessel—or case-specific programming. With this scalability, the solution can be offered for widespread sales. Moreover, Cetasols' data-driven simulation of the vessels is rare. The iHelm platform is a data-intensive digital twin of operations based on Cetasol's innovative technology and requires only minimal inputs from sensors. By data-based digital modeling, it is possible to create models as the vessels are running, thus saving time and effort.

Making Investments to Power Marine Technologies

This recent financing round, which resulted from the backing of renowned investors such as Sarsia, ShipsFocus, and Impact X Capital, is a milestone of Cetasol's way. The investment demonstrates strong faith in Cetasol's capability to implement sustainable and innovative renewable energy solutions for the maritime sector. The investors are not only from various countries, but they are also used to show how Cetasol is planning to reach the whole world.

Future Outlook and Goals

Ethan Faghani, the CEO and founder of Cetasol, said, "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".

This investment will enable Cetasol to double its R&D, expanding its sales and sales channels beyond Europe. 

Cetasol will spread the team, which will consist of product owners and data engineers, to support the development of the business. The company will also generate an off-the-shelf volume product with this investment. Through the funding of Cetasol, iHelm will be able to serve as a one-stop destination for all fleet owners and captains who want a sustainable way of running their businesses all over the world.