Hannah Sieber knows how transformative batteries can be. At her previous startup, EcoFlow, she used them to replace generators, whether to power homes after a heavy storm or RVs at a campsite. The experience made her wonder what else batteries, especially smaller ones, could do.
“What other industries could change so radically?” she recalled pondering at the time.
After leaving EcoFlow and while studying at Stanford, it hit home for her. She studied how California’s blackouts, intended to reduce wildfire risk, disproportionately affected people in other ways.
She noted that utilities are spending more on generators and microgrids in wealthier communities, leaving smaller, poorer communities in need. “I saw the impact of what happens during a 56-hour shutdown, if you’re a small business and your refrigerator loses power and all of a sudden you have to buy more supplies,” she told TechCrunch. “It was an ‘aha’ moment.”
Sieber began digging deeper into refrigeration, looking for places where battery-powered cooling could make a difference. After reading about its impact on the climate, she quickly focused on shipping.
“Could we electrify the cold chain?” she said she asked about it herself. “What would battery-powered shipping look like?”
Sieber’s latest startup, Articis her answer to that query. According to PitchBook, the company has quietly raised $14 million to date and has a product on the market, Medstow Micro, that helps hospitals, clinical research labs, and medical labs ship temperature-sensitive samples.
The device is a white plastic cube, sufficiently small to be held with one hand. Open the lid and up to 4 vials can be stored inside. There’s a USB-C port on the outside for charging a lithium-ion battery, which powers a solid-state heat pump that gives cooling or heating depending on outdoor conditions. The cube can store samples at 3 degrees C (37.4 degrees F) for a minimum of 56 hours. Thermometers, accelerometers and GPS track the shipment, and a cellular connection allows customers to keep an eye on their precious cargo.
Artyc leases the boxes to its customers, and because one of its boxes can replace each tracking equipment and disposable cooling packs or dry ice, Sieber said they typically break down after about 4 shipments. Plus, because the boxes are reusable, their carbon footprint is higher than competing methods after just two shipments, she added.
One of Sieber’s goals at Medstow Micro is to increase patient access to clinical trials. Currently, most of them are not available at large hospitals in major metropolitan areas. As a result, many individuals who might qualify are often excluded, which harms not only the patients who lose out on potentially life-changing treatments but also the field of medication itself, because trials that include more diverse patients tend to develop treatments that profit more people.
Artyc’s next product will have a five-liter capability and will likely be aimed at expensive, temperature-sensitive foods equivalent to herbs, chocolate and wine. Then, in 2025, the startup plans to launch a 25-liter model. “For a lot of our customers, it’s really about what they can’t ship today that they would like to be able to ship,” Sieber said.
Other uses are emerging, she added. Hospitals and clinical labs have said they are considering using Artyc boxes for additional, dark-proof storage or as portable coolers to simplify rounds. “Imagine a world where you have this on-site and a mobile phlebotomist grabs it, makes rounds all day and brings it back,” she said.
Sieber is also looking beyond healthcare in developed countries like the US. “We had great conversations with several global health foundations,” she said. For now, the team is trying to work out how to guarantee the temperature of the contents under extenuating circumstances.
“If you’re trying to reach a rural community and the road quality isn’t up to par and there are delays, how do you build a buffer?” she said. Nevertheless, she is optimistic. “We think it’s easier to find an outlet than dry ice.”