Who is WattAnyWhere and what does it bring to the energy market

If this is the first time you hear about this company, you might be wondering what is the activity of WattAnyWhere and how it can help us power ourselves with sustainable power. What resource does it use and who is this solution for? Residential customers, companies or factories? You'll find all about it from our discussion with Alexandre Laybros, Co-Founder and CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) at WattAnyWhere.

WattAnyWhere builds reliable, small-footprint gensets using solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology to convert ethanol into clean electricity. Our solution delivers sustainable electricity without needing a power grid, sun, or wind. It can be a primary source of power, or work alongside solar panels to ensure continuity when solar isn't available.

"We make clean, off-grid electricity possible - anywhere, anytime. It’s clean like solar, but dependable like diesel - minus the carbon and noise", says Alexandre.

This makes it ideal for EV charging, commercial sites, supermarkets, gas stations, or remote locations, basically, anywhere that needs clean and dependable power without delays or weather risks.

WattAnyWhere is a French-Swiss cleantech startup founded in 2021 by a team of five: Didier Roux (Chairman & CEO), Alexandre Laybros (Co-Founder & CMO), Patrick Brennan (CFO), Olivier de Bruijn (CTO), and Philippe Ruez (VP R&D Systems). Together, we bring decades of experience across sectors like automotive, aerospace, energy systems, and high-tech innovation.

"What unites us is a strong entrepreneurial mindset and hands-on experience in turning engineering innovation into real-world solutions. This diversity helps us address the energy transition not just from a technical angle, but also from a practical and scalable perspective", Alexandre added.

Simona Izabela Dumitru, Digital Communication and Marketing Manager, WattAnyWhere, is the link that connected Romania with this Western European team from the very beginning, since she's been assisting the five founders.

What is the utility of a decentralized energy production system

Producing energy at the spot where it will be consumed is very advantageous for companies, especially for those that have sites which can consume large amounts of power in a short amount of time. Normally, this would put pressure on the power grid, which also has the role to power nearby homes and potentially other, not as power hungry businesses. But, using a solution based on renewable energy "generators", the required energy can be supplied from a continuous flow of power, without affecting those who count on the power grid.

Alexandre explains: " Across Europe, including Romania, the energy grid is under growing strain: aging infrastructure, grid congestion, and delays in connecting new projects are slowing down electrification. EV charging stations, data centers, and commercial facilities are often left waiting for reliable access to power. In parallel, rural and peri-urban areas still face voltage instability and inconsistent supply."

The company's ethanol-powered generators offer the ideal compromise between traditional diesel generators, which provide power continuously, but are polluting given they burn fossil fuel, as well as photovoltaics with battery systems. These generate power only during day time, if the sun is on the sky, while the batteries can store the extra energy, but the carbon footprint associated with the manufacturing of those is very high.

"Our ethanol-powered fuel cell systems provide clean, reliable electricity - off-grid, weather-independent, and ready to deploy now. With existing fuel supply chains and proven technology, we’re bridging the gap between long-term energy goals and immediate power needs", said the CMO of WattAnyWhere.

2025, the moment to accelerate renewable energy

The generators developed by WattAnyWhere represent a compact energy solution, ready-to-implement, for EV-charging stations, commercial spaces, logistic hubs and critical infrastructure - with future applications in rural electrification, industries and emergency-response services.

The team believes that 2025 is a perfect moment to massively adopt such a solution, because we find ourselves in an acceleration moment when we need more EV charging stations and continuously-delivered power for worldwide data centers.

"In 2025, the question is no longer if off-grid solutions are needed - it's how quickly they can be delivered", believes Alexandre Laybros. Also in 2025, WattAnyWhere will make the step towards validating the technology from lab to testing it in real world conditions.

"We’ve validated our 22kW AC system in the lab (Technology Readiness Level 6) and are preparing for containerized pilot testing across France and Switzerland."

The plan for 2025 is to implement the system in supermarkets and gas stations, where EV charging stations are not enough to cover the demand from EVs. In 2026-2027, the company expects the full commercial launch of this product, industrial scale-up and reaching more European markets.

Five cool things about the ethanol-powered generators with fuel cells

Fuel Cell Innovation at the Core

Our system uses solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) - one of the most efficient and clean ways to generate electricity from renewable fuels.

Works With or Without Solar

It can run as a primary power source or complement solar PV - ensuring round-the-clock power regardless of sun availability.

High-Density Energy Storage

We store 100 MWh of energy using just a 30 m³ ethanol tank - no pressure, no massive footprint, and no complex battery logistics.

CO₂e-Avoiding Operation

By using bioethanol, our system emits only biogenic CO₂, enabling meaningful carbon avoidance compared to diesel or grid-based power. This supports EU and Romanian decarbonization goals and may offer access to carbon credit mechanisms.

Ultra-Compact, Low-Cost Power

Fits in under 16 m², costs under €0.10/kWh, and is up to 6x cheaper than solar+battery setups for equivalent energy output.

Acceleration plans at WattAnyWhere

To continue the development, implementation and testing of this technology, WattAnyWhere needs pilot partnerships and a close collaboration between the public and private sectors. Among the partners there could be supermarkets, EV charging station operators and networks or retailers and mobility operators - which could be ready to test and invest in clean energy, independent from the grid.

On the other hand, Alexandre's vision is that, the collaboration between the public and private sectors could support the integration of the solution in the strategies of energetic resilience and decarbonization, especially in the context of achieving net-zero emissions.

And the moment, as we stated earlier, is the right one. "Demand for reliable, decentralized power is growing faster than the grid can adapt - and production capacity in the fuel cell sector is competitive. By engaging early, partners can secure priority access, help shape deployment use cases, and gain a real competitive edge", WattAnyWhere representatives stated for Green Start-Up.

Concrete results from WattAnyWhere

So far, the company invested 5 million Swiss Francs, including equity, grants, and loans, for the development of these technologies and the team is preparing for a Series A round to scale the operations.

The team also completed the first real-world EV charging test in Switzerland, proving it can deliver clean power off-grid.

If we're talking about similar power delivery capacities, the company's ethanol-powered generator powered by fuel cells is up to 6 times cheaper compared to photovoltaics and battery storage.

WattAnyWhere prepared pilot commercial projects across Europe with various companies for 2025, including with retailers, energy companies and commercial players. Bpifrance. Solar Impulse Foundation and CleantechAlps are among the company's partners.

“We’re not just developing a product, we’re solving a real, urgent problem for businesses that can’t afford to wait for the grid and need to decarbonize. And we’re happy to be working with European and Romanian partners to make that possible”, said Alexandre Laybros, Co-Founder & CMO, WattAnyWhere.