DeNoize receives an investment to mitigate noise pollution from UNIIQ, a Dutch proof-of-concept fund
The Hague, January 21st – DeNoize, a Delft-based start-up receives a €200.000 investment from UNIIQ. This investment enables the company to further develop and validate its active noise cancellation technology for homes and offices. Hassan Charaf, Head of Innovation at Royal Schiphol Group announced the investment digitally.
Noise as a source for health issues
With our growing population and densification of cities, noise is frequently cited as one of the biggest problems in urban life. People living close to the airports and busy roads complain that they can never relax due to the intrusive sounds. Their experiences are reflected in higher levels of annoyance, mental ill-health and increasing risk of cardiovascular diseases. Existing measures such as double glazed windows or noise barriers are only effective in mitigating the mid-to-high frequencies. The most problematic low-frequency noise remains unchallenged. Current alternatives are therefore insufficient in protecting our city inhabitants from the impact of noise pollution. In the Netherlands alone, over a million people are affected by outdoor noise with a few hundred thousand inhabitants encountering severe sleep disturbance. Thus, resulting in approximately 800 directly related cases of heart disease.
Smart windows with active noise cancellation
Windows are normally the weakest link in insulating our homes and offices, especially against the low-frequency noises. DeNoize has developed an active noise cancellation technology to remove this limitation, making our windows more resilient against the outdoor noise. DeNoize works on the principal of counter vibrating the glass to cancel the incoming noise. By predicting the glass vibrations as a reaction to the outdoor noise, and by mirroring such movements, DeNoize is able to decrease the indoor noise levels by up to 90%. In the coming months, DeNoize aims to implement its first prototype in collaboration with, among others, Amsterdam airport Schiphol.
Aman Jindal, DeNoize CEO: “The UNIIQ investment allows us to gather strong technical and market validation for DeNoize. This will enable us to implement our system in a real-life pilot by 2022. Until then the technology needs to be developed further, which is why we’re happy to raise the investment at this stage.”
Investing with a long-term perspective
For UNIIQ the investment in DeNoize means an expansion of the Delft portfolio. Fund manager Hans Dreijklufft: “It’s often difficult for companies working on disruptive innovations to raise funding at this early stage. As UNIIQ, we’re proud to support these companies in their first steps towards delivering a proof-of-concept and ultimately commercially launching their product. DeNoize’s technology targets a serious and increasing societal problem that has received more attention over the past few years. Decreasing noise, especially at home in big cities or in an office alongside a busy road does not only increase comfort but in some cases determines quality of life”.
