Jean-Jacques Degroof is a venture investor and an entrepreneurship and innovation management teacher at many European business schools. He organized a Global Startup Labs in Belgium for students at the Catholic University of Louvain in 2018, with help from graduate students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Additionally, Jean-Jacques Degroof closely follows MIT spin-off ventures trying to commercialize innovative technologies, such as in the solar technology company developed by MIT scientists known as Ubiquitous Energy. This company aims to convert any surface to a solar panel.
Solar-powered windows could revolutionize renewable energy generation in buildings. Ubiquitous Energy, a startup founded by MIT scientists, has developed a transparent photovoltaic glass called UE Power. This coating can turn any surface into a solar panel, enabling buildings to harvest solar energy. Ubiquitous Energy is prioritizing installing UE Power on windows. This innovation could help reduce buildings' massive carbon footprints. UE Power only absorbs UV and infrared light, making it less efficient than standard solar panels. However, its versatility allows most structures to deploy it without altering their appearance. This feature could enable large-scale adoption. Aesthetics are essential for historic buildings in cities with preservation laws. These cities need to balance cultural heritage with urgent climate action. Ubiquitous Energy recognizes this challenge, along with a Dutch designer, Marjan van Aubel, who integrates solar cell technology into everyday surfaces, making the technology innately accessible and aesthetic. In sum, UE Power could let buildings generate solar power from windows without noticeably changing their look. Widespread use of solar windows could unlock the immense untapped solar potential of the built environment. This would provide significant renewable energy to grids. Solar-powered windows may help cities pursue climate goals and maintain their historic character.
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Jean-Jacques Degroof is a venture investor and a teacher of entrepreneurship and innovation management in various business schools across Europe, particularly in Belgium. He has successfully contributed to the growth of several ventures and helped young entrepreneurs refine their projects and put them on better paths. An experienced entrepreneur, Jean-Jacques Degroof was a research and teaching assistant at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology while pursuing his doctorate, focusing on entrepreneurship and innovation.
Innovation is the capability of individuals or corporations to investigate original and impactful ideas imaginatively, consequently increasing value for markets, governments, and society. The success of a business hinges not solely on its ability to earn revenue but also on how its concept benefits individuals. As a startup, innovation gives a competitive advantage. By fostering innovation, startups will gain a competitive advantage, positioning them as frontrunners and ensuring their supremacy. Many startups undertake the challenging endeavor of entering a new market with their product. However, they later face difficulties in keeping up with their rivals. This situation arises because, in most cases, a compelling idea attracts a multitude of emulators. Consequently, it is important for entrepreneurs to stay updated and deliberate over future courses of action. Also, innovation paves the way for business advancements driven by the need for heightened efficiency and productivity. Fundamentally, as entrepreneurs direct their efforts toward uncovering entirely fresh solutions or enhancing current ones, they will eventually discover greater ease in tackling and surmounting problems and challenges. A technology consultant and investor with a background spanning Belgium and the US, Jean-Jacques Degroof completed graduate studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). With a strong commitment to his alma mater’s entrepreneurial culture, Jean-Jacques Degroof follows the growth of companies such as Ubiquitous Energy, a solar tech firm that MIT scientists launched.
The key question posed by Ubiquitous Energy is how energy-production potential would be maximized if any surface could be used as a solar cell. Known as UE Power, the transparent photovoltaic glass coating is initially being integrated in windows as a means of minimizing the carbon footprint of buildings. One limitation of UE Power is that the coating exclusively absorbs near-infrared and UV light, instead of the full light spectrum of conventional solar panels. However, the sheer versatility of the coating makes it appealing, as it can be deployed on buildings with no impact on aesthetics. This type of solution is particularly sought after in historic cities with heritage conservation rules, which stipulate that the existing exterior profile remain largely unchanged. One other advantage of the Ubiquitous Energy approach is that it relies on earth-abundant materials that do not pose a health hazard and can be installed using standard coating practices. Jean-Jacques Degroof is an alumnus of the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium, where he graduated summa cum laude. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and earned his master’s degree and PhD. Professionally, Jean-Jacques Degroof is a venture investor.
Venture capital investment is a form of financing used to invest in startups with long-term growth potential. It plays an essential role in funding technology and other types of innovations. Venture capital investment helps startups to bridge the period during which they loose money until they become profitable. This strengthens a business’s ability to compete with other firms in the same industry and helps new businesses bring to market new innovative products that could not have materialized otherwise. The infusion of capital also increases a bank’s confidence in a business. This is because traditional financial institutions typically only give money to reputable companies. As a result, a bank will have more trust in those venture capital-backed firms. Therefore, the availability of venture capital investments supports startup enterprises by making it easier for them to access loans in the future. Jean-Jacques Degroof is a technology consultant who graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with an entrepreneurial background spanning Belgium and the United States. Maintaining lasting ties with his alma mater, Jean-Jacques Degroof stays informed on startups able to solve real problems, generate economic value and to contribute to local entrepreneurial ecosystems.
In April 2023, the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium: Driving Digital Resilience in a Turbulent World selected 10 early-stage venture finalists for its annual Innovation Showcase. Described as combining “innovation and value,” these companies gained in-person access to well-known IT executives at the two-day Symposium event in May. All companies fulfilled qualification thresholds, such as generating less than $10 million in revenues in 2021, offering enterprise solutions for IT departments, and having a viable product on the market. Among the selected finalists was Boston’s Tidelift, which focuses on improving security and resilience metrics for the open-source software supply chain. Based in Arlington, Massachusetts, TrustCloud was also chosen for the event. It delivers AI-driven ways of transforming governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) into a profit generator through compliance automation strategies encompassing programmatic risk management and security questionnaires. Other companies invited to the event included Silicon Valley firms such as cybersecurity-focused Opscura and SaaS Operations (SaaSOps) management-focused Zluri. An alumnus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management, Jean-Jacques Degroof has been involved with setting up technology startups in both Europe and the US. Born and raised in Belgium, Jean-Jacques Degroof is the author of the book From the Basement to the Dome. How MIT’s Unique Culture Created a Thriving Entrepreneurial Community.
The Book explains how Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been a hub for aspiring entrepreneurs. In the book, the author describes how MIT’s passion to find solutions to problems, the promotion of learning by doing in curricular and extracurricular activities, and a multi-disciplinary approach to research, among other factors, have helped the institute develop a culture of entrepreneurship. MIT alumni have founded around 30,000 active companies that employ 4.6 million people and generate close to $1.9 trillion in revenue. In the 2010s, 20 to 30 ventures were launched to commercialize technologies that were developed in MIT labs. Entrepreneurship is entrenched in MIT’s culture given the institute’s direct support for co-curricular activities, many of which have inspired innovation. A belief in experimentation and acceptance of failure as a way to attain success have also contributed greatly to MIT’s culture supportive of entrepreneurship. A graduate of the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium and of MIT in the US, Jean-Jacques Degroof is a technology investor and consultant who has worked with a number of companies to provide early-stage financing and mentorship, helping them develop their ideas and bring them to market. He also teaches entrepreneurship and innovation management, sharing his expertise and experience with students at various European business schools. Jean-Jacques Degroof has remained involved with his alma mater, supporting MIT programs in various areas including entrepreneurship, technology, and engineering.
Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are working on innovative 3D printing technologies and novel manufacturing materials. One of these researchers, John Hart, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, has a lab that materializes innovative ideas in the digital manufacturing space. Digital manufacturing involves using computers to guide the design of products. 3D printing, which is a form of digital manufacturing, involves using software-guided printers to fabricate products with precision. Computer-aided design (CAD) software specifies the details of the product, and a 3D printer fabricates the object by adding materials layer by layer according to the digital model of the product. John Hart's lab is pushing the envelope of 3D printing with enhanced speed and novel materials. Researchers at the lab are working on next-generation 3D printers that are up to 100 times faster as well as more accurate to those of today. The researchers are also working on developing stronger and lighter materials using carbon. These innovative carbon nanotube fibers are exceptionally strong and lightweight and have potential applications in lightweight and durable medical devices and auto component manufacturing. A technology venture investor, Jean-Jacques Degroof has taught on entrepreneurship in Belgium and throughout Europe. One of the companies that Jean-Jacques Degroof finds to be representative of impactful innovation is Boston Metal.
As announced in an ABC News article in January 2023, Boston Metal received a $120 million investment from ArcelorMittal, the world’s second-largest steelmaker. These funds will enable the expansion of green steel production at a Woburn, Massachusetts, facility, which employs renewable electricity in transforming iron ore to steel. The founders of Boston Metal are longtime Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professors seeking to move beyond the highly polluting conventional steel manufacturing paradigm. Rather than traditional coal burning, the process relies on transmitting electricity through a cell, or metal box filled with iron ore, similar in dimension to a school bus. This causes the iron and oxide to separate, with operators collecting iron as liquid from the cell’s bottom. The end result is steel production that does not produce any CO2. Boston Metal is set to increase production by millions of tons annually by 2026. At the same time, the company is developing capabilities to extract metals from slag that would otherwise be considered waste. With experience teaching innovation at business schools in Europe, Jean-Jacques Degroof is a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) graduate who maintains an active presence in the MIT startup community. Among the companies Jean-Jacques Degroof finds representative of innovation coming out of MIT is Kytopen, which employs a microfluidics approach in reprogramming cells.
Kytopen received financial support from The Engine, an accelerator focused on supporting innovative ventures developing “tough tech” with concepts that will take time to commercialize. The company has a new approach to electroporation, which involves shocking individual cells with small doses of electrical current. This opens the pores, enabling media such as customized DNA to be inserted. Traditionally, this process requires a small batch approach, as technicians must continuously monitor cells and adjust the current to the task at hand. Kytopen has created a very small pipette containing electrodes that facilitate continuous cell flow. The electrical field they are exposed to is just the right amount to open the cells, without injuring them. With continuous cell flow in place, reprogramming can occur at a rate 10,000 times faster than the most advanced current method. Ultimately, the aim is to integrate fluid-handling robots within an assembly line setup that maximizes reliable output and create a high-throughput, high-volume assembly line work. Kytopen enabled engineered cell products will deliver cost-effective cell therapies for patients around the world. An established New England researcher who has taught extensively in Belgium, Jean-Jacques Degroof pursues venture investments in emerging technologies. Possessing a strong interest in innovation, Jean-Jacques Degroof follows developments such as a recent breakthrough by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers in late 2022 that paved the way for fusion as a viable future energy source.
The nuclear plants that are currently in operation employ fission, which involves the splitting of uranium-235 (or another heavy isotope) into a pair of smaller isotopes that represent new and unstable forms of the original element. Splitting the isotopes generates a massive amount of energy that can be converted into electricity. Unfortunately, one result of this process is highly radioactive byproducts that remain in the environment for many years and must be carefully handled and stored. Nuclear fusion, by contrast, is the way that stars generate power. Smaller isotopes, such as hydrogen, are forced together to create larger isotopes, such as helium. In addition to generating more energy than a fission reaction, with relatively few inputs, fusion has no long-term radioactive byproducts. The major challenge overcome at LLNL is that small hydrogen isotopes are extremely resistant to fusing, requiring extremely high temperatures and massive pressure, as well as extremely sturdy and well-designed containment structures. While nuclear weapons can achieve fusion, attaining it within a controlled environment has been the holy grail of researchers for decades and it is now nearer to reality. |
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