Dylan Kassin, CEO & Co-Founder | Sarah Wilson, COO & Co-Founder

Electromaim develops hydro-generation solutions for buildings’ water systems that save building owners money while reducing their carbon footprint.

1. Describe the problem you are trying to mediate?

Today New York City’s buildings are responsible for 71% of the City’s emissions, and 94% of its total electricity consumption. New regulations, like Local Law 97, are pushing building owners to improve their energy efficiency but they are struggling to meet these demands.

After talking with over 150 NYC and DC building owners and managers, we found that roughly 80% of them are scrambling for energy efficiency solutions or are settling for unprofitable ones. Many of these building managers are still trying to recover from the revenue loss caused by the unprecedented number of vacancies during COVID. Many brought up NYC Local Law 97, and similar government regulations which are pushing them towards energy efficient technologies, but there were key stumbling blocks for many, including upfront costs and installing new technologies.

This problem is true for nearly every city across the globe. Recent interviews in Berlin, Paris, Singapore, and Dubai have shown us that this problem is urgent for building owners globally. We realized there is a clear need for an alternative energy generation technology that was retrofit-capable and had a fast pay-back period.

Further research showed us that one untapped source of energy was in the water distribution systems of the buildings.

For water to be distributed to every unit of a building with adequate flow, the water has to be initially pressurized to extremely high rates using pumps. But if this water was just siphoned off to any of the units below the top floor, it would burst through faucets. In order to avoid this, pressure reducing valves are installed on each floor to dissipate the excess energy into heat, creating a net loss of energy.

That’s when we began to question: Was it possible to capture this energy in a way that could both reduce emissions and turn a profit? To find out we turned to engineering colleagues at George Washington University, and realized our solution. Micro hydro-generators. They could effectively replace the existing pressure reducing valves, turning the excess energy into electricity rather than dissipating it into heat.

Electromaim can help millions of buildings reduce carbon emissions and have a measurable impact towards:

SDG 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

SDG 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

SDG 11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

SDG 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

2. How did the idea to create the company come to mind? How did your team come to be?

Throughout high school, Dylan learned about how the climate crisis proves to be an acute threat to his generation. Though not mandatory for New York City public school teachers, one of his favorite teachers, Mr. Holmes, insisted his students deeply understood the role their everyday lives played in exacerbating climate change. After graduating Dylan felt compelled to understand how he could make a contribution to climate action, beginning to analyze energy usage in cities. Later, working in the energy security space, Dylan grew a deep interest in smart cities and micro-grids and not only their implications for the next century of national security, but also for their direct implications on climate action. This big-picture view propelled Dylan to dive deep into where energy could be harvested within cities, mitigating the risks of consuming energy that was almost exclusively generated hundreds of miles away and transmitted in through long-distance cables.

Dylan identified this problem and, with the help of two extremely gracious fluid dynamic PhD students at GW, was able to learn all the necessary fluid dynamic calculations to produce a white paper on the issue and pitch it to the Department of Energy. For this, Dylan received a grant from the DOE and NREL, which he used to test his prototype in a lab and verify his theoretical proofs and filed for patent. At this point, it was clear Dylan needed assistance on the financial and operations sides, as cost savings and projecting ROI was the key value-prop to customers.

Luckily, Dylan’s best-friend’s sister’s roommate, Sarah, worked in a hydrology lab and had experience in financial consulting at PwC. Sarah is extremely passionate about climate innovation, and thus signed on. Working together the two were able to bring the technology through two accelerators, building their team, network, and product along the way, not to mention landing three pilot project offers pending the final product.

3. Why did you choose to participate in the Paris Techstars accelerator program? What are you looking forward to the most?

Techstars is renowned for its mentorship, and during our participation in one of their pre-accelerators, we gained valuable insights into hardware development, fundraising, and customer acquisition—three crucial areas we aim to advance over the next three months. With the launch of Techstars' Climate Hub at their new office in Paris, we recognized that this cohort would benefit from a wealth of in-person events, not only with the incredible Techstars Paris team, led by Raphaele, but also with a wide range of industry stakeholders and investors. As we view Europe as a key early market, the opportunity to expand our network in this region was one we couldn’t pass up.

4. What are you the most proud of in your initial journey with your company?

Dylan and Sarah have made significant strides with their company while still in college, an achievement they take great pride in.

They’ve received support from the Department of Energy, National Renewables Lab, National Science Foundation, CleanTech Open, and SEE Institute. Now graduates, they’ve shown impressive traction, immersing themselves in the market, developing a product that addresses a critical need, and securing both interest and funding. Along the way, they built a strong team, including advisors with experience in turbine development, building energy efficiency, energy tech sales, and the ESCO industry.

5. How do you plan to measure the positive impact of your company in the next 5 years?

Over the next five years, we plan to measure our environmental impact by tracking CO2 emissions reductions and energy efficiency improvements in retrofitted buildings. For example, a 50-story building using our technology can save approximately 598 metric tons of CO2 annually. By scaling to multiple buildings, we aim to achieve significant cumulative emissions reductions. We will also monitor energy savings using real-time data from building management systems (BMS) and ensure transparency through third-party audits. Our efforts will contribute to meeting sustainability goals, supporting compliance with energy regulations, and promoting broader awareness of green building practices.

Good luck, Electromaim!

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