Assetcool has been named the Startup of the Year for Free Electrons 2025, recognised for its pioneering contribution to grid modernisation and transmission efficiency. Founded in the UK back in 2016, the company develops advanced photonic coatings and robotic systems that increase the capacity and reliability of overhead power lines.
Its CapacityN robotic platform applies these coatings directly into live lines, delivering up to 30% additional transmission capacity, 10% lower energy losses, and as much as 95% lower upgrade costs compared to conventional approaches. Through scalable, rapidly deployable technology, Assetcool is redefining how utilities expand capacity without building new infrastructure.
Following their success in the program, Free Electrons spoke to Dr. Niall Coogan, Co-Founder and CEO of Assetcool, to learn more about the company’s origins, their ongoing collaborations with global utilities, and what comes next in 2026.
Q.1. Could you tell us a little bit about AssetCool’s story<< and what inspired you to start?
Dr. Niall Coogan:
AssetCool offers robotic grid upgrades that add up to 30% increase in current-carrying capacity on overhead lines.
At a macro level, we have this generational increase in demand from electrification and data centres, and transmission and distribution is extremely difficult to solve. This began back in a PhD at the University of Manchester, studying issues of transmission and distribution with my co-founder. We looked at applying passive photonic materials to overhead lines – materials that passively cool substrates by reflecting sunlight and emitting heat.
The theory was: if you can lower the temperature of a power line, you can increase the current-carrying capacity. Overhead lines are limited by temperature. As you put power down a line, it heats up. If it hits around 80°C, it will sag excessively, which is the fundamental limit on how much you can carry. If you cool the conductor, you can transmit more before reaching that limit.
We started formulating materials that could be applied to conductors and remain in the field for multiple decades. Then we moved to applying it in factories, so new transmission lines could be installed with enhanced properties of up to 30% more power.
Where the real take-off happened was the opportunity to apply this to existing lines. If your line has reached capacity and you need to add more power, you can usually do one of two things:
- Reconductoring: Take the line down and install a larger one. It’s important for the energy transition, but it takes three to seven years to execute.
- Build new lines: Also essential, but slow and complex.What we do is physically modify conductor properties in the field with robots and this coating material, giving up to 30% more power – typically 40 to 100 MW of additional capacity. That’s billions a year in value to a hyperscaler or utility, for a fraction of the cost and delivered in months.
From the coating to factory application to field robotics, we’ve developed a unique technology stack at the intersection of materials science and robotics.
Our vision is to reach high levels of autonomy with hundreds of robots doing thousands of kilometres. With the generational challenge facing transmission lines, we have opportunities to impact the physical layer of the grid at scale.
We’ve been in stealth mode for quite some time, refining and perfecting the technology. Eventually, we decided it was time to let people know about the breakthrough advances we’d been building. That’s why we applied to Free Electrons.
Q.2. The company was founded in 2016. What came afterwards in the priorities list?
Dr. Niall Coogan: 2016 was when the company was formed. Our first funding came in late 2017 or early 2018. Then followed several years in stealth mode, developing the coating, the factory application system, and now the robotic system.
We’ve done full-stack technology development in multiple areas. Some things simply take time. If you need to collect multiple years of accelerated aging or field-trial data to verify the coating will last for decades, no amount of funding will compress that.
You just have to do the time. So it has been a relatively long journey to the point where we’re now ready to commercialise and scale.
Q.3. What is the most impactful learning you take from Free Electrons?
Dr. Niall Coogan:
It’s hard to put a single point on it. We had so many insightful bits of feedback from utilities – additional data we can test, operational procedures we can refine. It was collective and continuous learning around product value proposition and how we demonstrate it.
We’re doing pilots with three out of seven of the utilities. Also, sharing experiences with others in the cohort was valuable. Being in a room with 15, 60, even more founders sharing experiences about fundraising, technology development, pilot progression was hugely beneficial.
So it was collective learning rather than a single “penny drop.”
Q.4. How do you envision the technology evolving over the next three to five years?
Dr. Niall Coogan:
We’ve gone from coating development to applying it in the field. In the next two weeks, we’re starting the largest robotics project in history on overhead lines: around 1,400 kilometres of robot work. It’s a huge test of reliability, durability and scale.
We’ve just released the second generation of our robotic platform. It focuses on reliability, durability and scale. We’ve produced 18 units for deployment on the project, and that’s really the foundation for expansion. We’re leaning heavily into autonomy, data collection during operations, and improving productivity. That means reducing operator skill requirements, reducing the number of operators, and increasing the spans we can do per day. It’s an ambitious R&D programme.
We completed our Series A recently. As of May we were around 15 people. By mid-January we’ll be 59. The vast majority of that growth is engineering talent. About 75% of the organisation will be focused on executing this vision around robots augmenting current-carrying capacity and gathering huge amounts of data on conductor condition, while increasing autonomy.
The achievements we produced were with fewer than five engineers but I keep thinking: what will we do with 35 or 40? I think the answer is a huge amount.
Q.5. Following this recognition, what comes next for AssetCool? What are your priorities for the year ahead?
Dr. Niall Coogan:
The traction we got from the announcement was significant, and we’re capitalising on it by growing our profile. We’re starting this large robotics project, getting substantial operational execution under our belt, and delivering a significant amount of deployment.
We’re focusing heavily on pilot deployments in the US. The US has a unique load-growth problem and vast infrastructure, so we’re leaning into that.
We’re also managing rapid team growth and the R&D pipeline. All of this builds toward our next investment round, Series B, at the end of the year.
We’ve done the first phase of the ramp-up. Now it’s about executing, progressing the R&D cycle, making a leap forward with the technology, and then going back to the market for investment once we’ve delivered deployment-scale contracts.
Q.6. If you had to describe Free Electrons in one word, which would you choose?
Dr. Niall Coogan:
Worthwhile.
You could complement that with “high return on investment.” There’s a lot of travel and coordination involved, especially when you’re in an operationally intense period, but it is definitely worthwhile.
Q.7. What advice would you give to startups considering applying to the next edition of Free Electrons?
Dr. Niall Coogan:
Make sure you’re ready. We could have applied a year or two earlier on a more conceptual basis, but if your product isn’t ready, you’ll get lots of feedback but you won’t get the maximum return on engagement with utilities.
If you are ready, go for it. Once you have product-market fit and early demonstrations or pilots, you’ll be pulled through very quickly. Going from first conversations to multiple pilots in under a year is light-speed in the utility world. These utilities are ready to do business, pilots, and take things forward.
Reflecting on AssetCool’s Journey
AssetCool’s path through Free Electrons demonstrates what can happen when deep R&D, readiness for scale, and the right utility networks converge. Their experience shows how high-potential technologies can move from breakthrough to deployment with the support of global utilities ready to test, validate and accelerate adoption.
Ready to take your startup further?
Free Electrons 2026 marks the 10th edition of the program – a milestone year designed for innovators ready to scale, collaborate, and enter global markets.
If your technology is ready for utility-level deployment, this is the year to apply. Applications for Free Electrons 2026 are open.
Take the step and join a program where partnerships turn into pilots – and pilots turn into scale.
