Nemean BioLabs aims to stop industry biofouling before it starts

The buildup of bacteria and biofilms inside heat exchangers and cooling systems, also called biofouling, can be a serious problem in modern society. To get rid of it, we typically use very harsh chemicals that pollute and leach into the water, and are very dangerous to humans and ecosystems. That's not sustainable, the Maastricht-based team behind Nemean BioLabs concluded some time ago. Since then, they have been working on preventing biofouling in the first place. Last week, Nemean's co-founder, Fumi Lesné-Akiyama, explained the startup's mission at Gerard & Anton's Demos, Pitches & Drinks event in Eindhoven.

On stage, Lesné-Akiyama outlined a problem that most people rarely think about, but that quietly affects everything from hospitals and data centers to power plants and industrial facilities worldwide.

According to Nemean BioLabs, the consequences of biofouling are enormous. Reduced efficiency means higher energy consumption, more maintenance, increased operational costs, and ultimately higher CO₂ emissions. “The world runs on heat exchangers,” Lesné-Akiyama told the audience. “I don’t know if you know what a heat exchanger is, but it’s basically like your household radiator.”

That simple comparison hides a massive global infrastructure. Heat exchangers transfer heat between liquids or gases and are essential in countless industrial processes. They sit at the heart of cooling systems in factories, data centers, hospitals, and energy installations. But the warm, wet environments inside those systems also create ideal conditions for bacterial growth.

Once bacteria attach themselves to heat-exchange surfaces, they form a biofilm: a slimy, insulating layer that blocks efficient heat transfer. “The issue is that when they attach, they form a biofilm, which is an insulating layer reducing the efficiency of these systems,” Lesné-Akiyama explained.

A hidden energy problem

The startup argues that biofouling is more than just a maintenance headache. As systems lose efficiency, operators must use more energy to achieve the same cooling or heating performance. In sectors already under pressure to reduce emissions, that inefficiency quickly becomes both an environmental and economic problem.

Current industrial solutions rely heavily on chemical cleaning agents and anti-fouling treatments. According to Nemean BioLabs, those substances are increasingly problematic because of tightening environmental regulations and growing concerns about toxicity. “These products are actually being banned by the EU,” Lesné-Akiyama said during the pitch.

Rather than cleaning contamination after it appears, the company wants to prevent bacterial attachment from happening in the first place. Its proposed solution is a bio-based coating inspired by natural protective surfaces. “Our solution is a sustainable bio-based coating that would prevent bacterial attachment,” she said. “Prevent the issue at the source, not rely on chemicals.”

The coating is designed to create surfaces where bacteria struggle to settle and form biofilms. If successful, such an approach could reduce the need for aggressive cleaning cycles, extend equipment lifespan, and improve energy efficiency simultaneously.

Riding the wave of stricter regulation

Nemean BioLabs positions itself at the intersection of sustainability, industrial efficiency, and regulation. The startup believes tightening European environmental rules will accelerate demand for alternatives to conventional chemical treatments. “The tighter the regulations get, the more we bring the solution,” Lesné-Akiyama told the audience.

The company describes its technology as “nature-inspired,” part of a broader trend in biotechnology where biological mechanisms are translated into industrial applications. Instead of fighting bacteria with increasingly aggressive chemistry, Nemean aims to engineer surfaces that naturally resist colonization.

That positioning appears to resonate with early-stage innovation programs and startup competitions. Since formally launching earlier this year, the company has rapidly built visibility in European sustainability and deep-tech circles.

Fumi Lesné-Akiyama, Domonkos Barkovits, Laurin Gschwenter

In March, Nemean BioLabs won four awards during the Brightlands Startup Challenge, including the Advanced Category Award, Maastricht Impact Award, Brightlands Chemelot Campus Award, and the Audience Award. The startup later placed third at the EPFL Sustainable Innovation Challenge in Switzerland.

In a LinkedIn post after the Brightlands competition, the company described those recognitions as “the official start” of Nemean BioLabs. The founders wrote that the awards validated their vision of “a bio-engineered coating that eliminates the annual €200 billion biofouling burden faced by industrial cooling systems.”

Looking for industrial partners

Despite the early recognition, the startup remains focused on validation and ecosystem building. During the Eindhoven pitch, Lesné-Akiyama repeatedly emphasized the importance of industry collaboration. “We’re looking for investors, and most importantly, we’re looking for industry partners,” she said.

Specifically, the team hopes to connect with operators and experts working in cooling systems, power plants, data centers, and industrial facilities, sectors where biofouling creates constant operational challenges.

The startup is also deliberately embedding itself in the Brainport ecosystem, despite being based in Maastricht. Lesné-Akiyama closed her presentation by stressing the importance of extending the company's network. “We aim to build our ecosystem and our network here in the Brainport Eindhoven region.”

For now, Nemean BioLabs is still in the early stages of development. But the company’s pitch reflects a broader shift happening across European industry: sustainability is no longer only about generating cleaner energy, but also about reducing the invisible inefficiencies hidden inside the infrastructure that powers modern society.