Sipchem InnoVent: Innovating with EPFL
© 2025 EPFL
After two years in EPFL’s KNOVA Open Innovation programme, Sipchem InnoVent, the innovation and venture-capital arm of parent company Sipchem, has continued its impressive growth from its base in the EPFL Innovation Park. This progress is driven by deep engagement in KNOVA, an active on-campus presence, and a clear, agile innovation strategy.
A stimulating ecosystem at the heart of EPFL
The story began in 2022, when Sipchem’s executive board, historically focused on petrochemicals, decided to shift toward a more sustainable model built on carbon neutrality and the circular economy. Sipchem InnoVent, launched at EPFL in 2023 with three team members, was tasked with spearheading innovation and managing the group’s investment fund.
From day one, we wanted to establish ourselves at the very heart of the campus to benefit from all the opportunities the EPFL ecosystem offers
This strategic location lets the team understand how Swiss universities operate, tap into student expertise that truly makes a difference, and forge direct links with researchers as well as the broader network of EPFL spin-offs and start-ups.
Their integration was made possible through KNOVA, the Open Innovation programme run by EPFL’s Vice Presidency for Innovation and Impact, an initiative that quickly became a decisive growth lever.
Éric and his team took full advantage of KNOVA, attending networking events, touring laboratories, building collaborations with researchers, and engaging students to support their projects
A fully successful participation, she adds, thanks to “Éric Bouchardy’s very clear strategic vision for Sipchem InnoVent, combined with regular, transparent exchanges. That clarity allowed us to suggest the right contacts and actions and to keep strong momentum throughout each project.”
Concrete innovation momentum
In just two years, Sipchem InnoVent has cleared several key milestones. The company has filed three patents covering a polymer-recycling process and up-cycled polymer formulations based on 100 % post-consumer rPET. Licensed and commercialised under the Meras® brand at industrial scale, this product line meets the circularity demands of the industrial, consumer-goods and mobility markets.
These advances were made possible through collaborations with EPFL researchers and students, partnerships with universities visited under KNOVA, and investments in EPFL start-ups. And the pace continues: a fourth patent is under review, projects have begun with iRAP (a HES-SO laboratory), and further initiatives are planned with an EPFL professor.
Another milestone was the addition of two students to the team in 2024. Michel (EPFL, chemical engineering) and Rafael (University of Fribourg, communications) bring essential skills, as well as working closely with The Consulting Society, an EPFL student association supporting Sipchem InnoVent on market and product-analysis studies.
“Access to this pool of talent is a real advantage for our growth,” notes Éric Bouchardy, who plans to expand the team further, now seven strong.
Sustainable growth within EPFL Innovation Park
Firmly established in the EPFL Innovation Park, Sipchem InnoVent intends to keep leveraging the richness of the local ecosystem to move its projects forward and foster a more sustainable chemical industry.
The progress we’ve made over the past three years is significant, and the EPFL environment will remain a powerful growth driver for us