UPHEAT
High-temperature heat pumps for industry.
Invested in: 2025
Investors: Maki.vc, Vsquared
Turning industrial waste heat into valuable energy
Upheat is a Finnish cleantech company founded by Timo Pulkki, Juha Saari, Juha Lammi, Toni Pennanen and Olli Kuismanen, building the next generation of high-temperature heat pumps for industrial process heat. Its oil-free technology recovers waste heat and upgrades it into valuable 100–200°C heat and steam, helping industrial companies reduce both energy costs and fossil fuel use.
Upheat’s heat pumps are designed for energy-intensive industries where high temperatures have traditionally made electrification difficult. By integrating directly into existing systems, they enable manufacturers across food and beverage, pulp, paper and wood, pharmaceuticals and chemicals to reuse energy that would otherwise be lost – reducing primary energy consumption by up to 80%.
Paavo räisänen
“Upheat’s team combines decades of engineering expertise with a clearly differentiated approach to industrial decarbonization — their high-temperature heat pump technology unlocks waste heat recovery that’s been out of reach for conventional systems. It is rare to meet teams with this level of technical depth paired with such a clear-eyed view of what industry actually needs.”
General Partner, Maki.vc
TIMO PULKKI
“Industry wastes enormous amounts of energy as heat while still burning fossil fuels to generate new heat. We’re changing that with oil-free high-speed turbo heat pumps that use natural refrigerants to turn waste heat into valuable 100–200°C process heat and steam. Our goal is to make industrial heat circular – helping factories cut fossil fuel use, emissions and energy costs, and making decarbonization an obvious business decision.”
CEO & CO-FOUNDER of UPHEAT
Founders
Timo Pulkki
Juha Saari
Juha Lammi
Olli Kuismanen
Toni Pennanen
