Belgian Startup e-peas Raises $22M for Battery-Free Devices
Belgian semiconductor company e-peas, a spin-off from UCLouvain based in Louvain-la-Neuve, has raised USD 22 million (approximately €20.5 million) to accelerate the deployment of its energy-harvesting technology, which enables everyday electronic devices to operate without disposable batteries. The funding round, announced on July 8, 2026, was led by Crédit Mutuel Innovation with the participation of Belgian federal fund SFPIM and existing investors including the European Innovation Council (EIC), Wallonie Entreprendre, and KBC Focus Fund.
A Battery-Free Vision
Founded in 2014 by engineers Geoffroy Gosset and Julien De Vos, e-peas develops ultra-low-power semiconductor chips called Power Management Integrated Circuits (PMICs) that capture and manage ambient energy from light, heat, vibrations, and radio waves. These chips can power devices such as remote controls, wireless keyboards, sensors, and IoT gadgets without traditional batteries or with dramatically extended battery life.
According to e-peas’ official press release, the company’s solutions already power high-volume applications including solar-powered remote controls, HVAC systems, cameras, and smart tracking devices for leading global customers. The technology eliminates operational costs and environmental damage associated with disposable batteries while supporting sustainability objectives for manufacturers.
“This new investment is a strong endorsement of e-peas’ technology, strategy, and market traction,” said Geoffroy Gosset, CEO and co-founder of e-peas. “It will allow us to further scale our commercial activities, enter new high-growth markets, and expand our portfolio to support a wider range of energy-autonomous applications. Our ambition is to make energy harvesting a standard design choice for sustainable electronics.”
The Environmental Imperative
The environmental motivation behind e-peas’ mission is stark. Bruno Damien, Marketing Director at e-peas, highlighted in an interview with NCP Wallonie that in France alone, one billion alkaline batteries and 250 million lithium batteries are put on the market each year, with half ending up in landfills without sorting. “We offer a clean, reliable, and sustainable alternative,” Damien stated.
Alexis Riou of lead investor Crédit Mutuel Innovation emphasized the dual impact: “Supporting e-peas allows us to contribute reshaping the future of IoT, making it more scalable and sustainable. By backing this innovative company, we’re not just driving IoT growth; we are slashing its carbon footprint.”
Technology Leadership
e-peas operates as a fabless semiconductor company — it designs and develops its own integrated circuits but outsources manufacturing. The company’s portfolio includes over 17 products, including Ambient Energy Manager (AEM) PMICs, ultra-low-power microcontrollers (MCUs), and sensor solutions.
A key differentiator is the company’s integrated approach. As CTO and co-founder Julien De Vos explained in a European Commission feature, e-peas’ MCU holds the highest ULPBench score for a Cortex-M0 microcontroller and communicates directly with the power management IC to monitor the system’s energy status. “Our solution stands out because our circuits are designed to work seamlessly together,” De Vos noted.
Investor Confidence and EU Support
The financing round represents a significant vote of confidence in Walloon deep-tech innovation. Alan Vandenberghe, Investment Manager at SFPIM, stated: “This investment supports the emergence of Belgian deep-tech champions in critical technologies to the energy transition. e-peas is one of the types of actors we want to support, a company with differentiated technological expertise in semiconductors.”
e-peas has also benefited from European Union funding programs, including €2.5 million from the European Innovation Council under the EPEAS project and participation in the Horizon Europe EFFECTOR project focused on indoor photovoltaic technology. The company employs approximately 40 people at its Louvain-la-Neuve headquarters, with additional offices in Switzerland and Palo Alto, California.
What’s Next
With the new capital, e-peas plans to scale its commercial activities, expand into new international markets, and diversify its product portfolio to meet growing demand for sustainable, battery-independent electronic systems. The company also used this financing round to streamline its shareholder structure.
As the Ambient IoT market continues to grow — driven by tens of billions of connected devices and tightening environmental regulations — e-peas is positioning itself as a key enabler of a future where electronic devices power themselves from the energy that surrounds them. The company’s success also marks an important milestone for Wallonia’s innovation ecosystem, demonstrating that the region can compete in the global semiconductor design industry.