On October 8-12, one of the most innovative cities in the world, i.e. Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, hosted the University Startup World Cup.  The team “Oxygen” of the Lithuanian startup “Šviežias oras”, which has created an innovative residential air conditioner “Oxygen X-Air C200” participated in this event for the first time.  “Oxygen” has agreed to share its experience from the international event and explained why their product is exceptional.

 Tell us about your product. Why is it exceptional in the market? How did the idea to develop this project emerge?

The amendments to the Construction Technical Regulation, which took effect in 2017, obliged real estate developers to mount a ventilation device – recuperator in every accomplished residential apartment, even in the smallest ones, i.e. apartments of about 35 m2.  Before that, the ventilation market was focused only on big dwelling houses, and the devices were big, had excess capacity and were not suitable to mount in a confined space. OXYGEN X-AIR C200 recuperator is mounted above the bathroom ceiling, and this way it does not occupy the place important for every apartment owner, and it is invisible and almost unheard.

How long have you been developing this project? Maybe you can boast of first sales?

The development of the product was launched in April 2017, and its prototype was presented during the final of the PowerUP! Competition for Europe’s sustainable energy startups, which took place in Hungary in November 2017, and production of this product was launched in early 2018. More than 150 buyers of new apartments in Vilnius are currently enjoying OXYGEN X-Air C200 recuperator. This product can be purchased in Lithuania, and the company is also actively searching for sales partners in foreign countries.

Is it true that KTU University is your main partner? Are there other partners or investors that have contributed to the project?

While developing the product, we cooperated with KTU, the Baltic Institute of Advanced Technology, and testings were performed in laboratories of our partners in Lithuania, Poland and Holland.

What main challenges this product may face on its path to becoming the leading product in the market?

Potential users have little information about the process of ventilation itself and heat recovery technologies. Distributors and mounters are used to working with one or several chosen manufacturers. The market also offers an abundance of poor-quality ventilation solutions, which are often chosen because of low price. OXYGEN X-Air C200 recuperator satisfies the needs of every market participant. Real estate developers are attracted by its competitive price and perfect quality, mounters – by its simple installation, and the final user – by its exceptional energy efficiency and intuitivity.

What are your future plans for this product development?

The company’s engineers constantly improve the developed product, and in the future, we want to develop an application to manage the device via the smart phone or computer.  We are also planning to present a filter subscription service in the next month, i.e. the user will not have to worry about the air quality in his apartment. We will remember about the necessity to replace filters for the user offering him the best filtration solution depending on the season.

We know that you participate in the startup competition in Denmark. Maybe you could share your experience, insights and photos from the event?

Best teams of universities across the world presented their initiatives during the University Startup World Cup. We did not take the medal place, yet we enjoyed the exceptional attention of the Jury, i.e. two minutes more than other teams.

Thank you for your answers!