Hannah Sieber knows how transformative batteries can be. In his previous startup, EcoFlow, he used it to replace generators, whether to power homes after bad storms or RVs at campsites. The experience made him curious about what batteries could do, especially smaller ones.
“What other industries could change so dramatically?” he remembers thinking at the time.
After leaving EcoFlow, and while studying at Stanford, he hit it off. He has examined how California’s power outages, intended to limit the risk of wildfires, have had disproportionate effects on different people.
They found that utilities spend more on generators and microgrids in wealthier communities, creating smaller, poorer communities. “I saw the impact of what happens during a 56-hour shutoff if you are a small business and the refrigerator loses power and suddenly you have to buy more supplies,” he told TechCrunch. “It was this ‘ah ha’ moment.”
Sieber began to dig deeper into the refrigerator, looking for places that could cause the battery to cool. He quickly turned to shipping after reading about climate impacts.
“Can we cold chain electricity?” she said she asked herself. “And what will shipping do with batteries?”
Sieber’s latest startup, Artyc, is the answer to that question. The company has quietly raised $14 million so far, according to PitchBook, and has a product on the market, the Medstow Micro, which helps hospitals, clinical trials and medical laboratories deliver temperature-sensitive specimens.
The device is a white plastic cube, small enough to hold with one hand. Close the lid, and inside up to four vials can be stored. On the outside, there is a USB-C port to charge the lithium-ion battery that powers the solid-state heat pump, which provides cooling or heating depending on the external conditions. The cube can store samples at 3 degrees C (37.4 degrees F) for at least 56 hours. Thermometers, accelerometers and GPS track the package, and mobile connectivity allows customers to monitor their precious cargo.
Artyc rents the boxes to customers, and because one of the boxes can replace the tracking hardware and disposable ice packs or dry ice, Sieber said, they tend to break after about four shipments. Also, because the boxes are reusable, the carbon footprint is better than competing methods after only two shipments, he added.
One of Sieber’s goals with Medstow Micro is to expand patient access to clinical trials. Currently, there are generally no large hospitals in major metropolitan areas. As a result, many people who might be eligible tend not to be collected, harming not only patients, who miss out on life-changing treatments, but the field of medicine itself, because trials that enroll more diverse patients tend to produce therapies that benefit. more people.
Artyc’s next product will hold five liters, and will likely be targeted at temperature-sensitive foods like herbs, chocolate and wine. Then in 2025, the startup plans to deliver a size of 25 liters. “For many customers, it’s really about what they can’t deliver today that they want to deliver,” Sieber said.
Other uses have emerged, he said. Hospitals and clinical laboratories say they are considering using Artyc boxes as additional storage, dead-ends or as mobile refrigerators to simplify rounds. “Imagine a world where you have on site, and a mobile phlebotomist catches, does rounds for the day, and brings back,” she said.
Sieber is also looking at healthcare in developed countries like the US. “We’ve had a lot of conversations with some of the global health foundations,” he said. Now, the team is trying to figure out how to ensure the temperature of the contents in lower conditions.
“If you’re trying to get to a rural community and the quality of the road is not what you want and there are delays, how do you create a buffer?” she said. Still, he’s optimistic. “We think it’s easier to source outlets than dry ice.”
