Heliosand

What Heliosand does

Heliosand is a French deep-technology startup founded in 2020 in Lyon that has developed a patented solar concentration platform capable of vitrifying industrial and mineral waste into reusable construction materials. The core product is a giant Fresnel-lens solar furnace with a stated 100 m² concentration area — claimed to be approximately ten times the prior industry largest — that delivers process temperatures of up to 4,000 °C using only sunlight. At those temperatures, hazardous pollutants are broken down at the atomic level and the residue is converted into a vitrified, glass-like material marketed as Neoconcrete, designed to substitute for cement, clinker and aggregates in construction. The company also offers a separately branded consumer-facing product called Crédit Dépollution (Depollution Credit), a pay-as-you-go donation product priced by weight of waste neutralized (10 kg to 1 tonne) that funds the underlying solar depollution operations.

The business model blends three revenue streams: (i) B2B industrial waste-treatment contracts with heavy-industry customers in cement, construction and energy, including a first commercial pilot with NGE Group for tunnel-construction sludge and exploratory engagement with Vinci, EDF and Vicat; (ii) sale or licensing of the produced Neoconcrete materials and future licensing of the solar-furnace technology to international partners (including a Dubai JV with a sovereign wealth fund); and (iii) granular consumer and SMB Depollution Credit donations processed through an e-commerce funnel. Go-to-market mixes enterprise field sales, direct-to-consumer e-commerce, and awards-and-events-driven visibility building (Challenges Top 100 Startups 2023, multiple 2024-2025 industry awards).

As of 2023 Heliosand had approximately 15 staff across three French sites — a Lyon headquarters, a Saint-Marcellin manufacturing/workshop facility, and a Marseille R&D office — and had disclosed €15,000 in revenue alongside €500,000 in total funding across two rounds (€100K business angels in 2021, €400K BAs + EIT in 2023). Operations remain at pilot-to-industrial-scaling stage, with 2025 marked as the year of first industrial pilot deployment and ongoing international expansion (Middle East, West Africa, North America, Scandinavia).

Name

Heliosand

Legal name

Heliosand

Website

https://heliosand.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Heliosand is a French deep-tech startup that builds giant Fresnel-lens solar furnaces reaching 4,000 °C to vitrify industrial waste into Neoconcrete construction material, serving heavy-industry clients in cement, construction and energy alongside a consumer Depollution Credit product.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Solar Waste Vitrification Equipment

NAICS

Flat Glass Manufacturing (327211)

SIC

Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827)

akta.pro primary industry

Solar Plant Components Supply & Manufacturing (Modules, Cells, Wafers, Mirrors, Heliostats) (EUACAGAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Solar EPC & Construction (Utility-Scale, Rooftop, Balance of System) (EUAMABAB), Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) EPC (EUAEAAAH)

Keywords

• Solar concentration technology
• Industrial waste vitrification
• Construction material recycling
• Depollution credits
• Circular economy solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Lyon

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Depollution Credits: One-time or recurring donations from individuals and organizations that directly fund solar depollution operations. Contributors receive certificates and updates on waste treated. Pricing tiers based on weight of pollution removed (10kg to 1 tonne).
2. Industrial Waste Treatment Contracts: B2B contracts with industrial companies (construction, cement, energy) for treating their waste materials using solar furnace technology. Revenue generated from processing fees for mineral waste, sludge, and sediment conversion.
3. Equipment Licensing: Future licensing of solar furnace technology and neo-concrete production to industrial partners globally, including international deployments in regions like Saudi Arabia (Neom project) and UAE.
4. Material Sales: Sale of vitrified construction materials (neo-concrete, aggregates) produced from treated waste to construction industry buyers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Heliosand builds industrial-scale solar furnaces using patented giant Fresnel lenses (up to 100 m²) that concentrate sunlight to reach temperatures of 4,000°C, vitrifying hazardous industrial and mineral waste into stable, reusable construction materials called Neoconcrete. The company also sells Depollution Credits to individuals and organizations as a way to fund solar waste treatment, with credits priced by weight of pollution removed (10 kg to 1 tonne).

Product overview

Heliosand offers a unified product system centered on solar concentration technology. The core offering is their patented solar furnace with giant Fresnel lenses (up to 100m² concentration area) reaching 4000°C to vitrify industrial waste into Neoconcrete. They complement this with Depollution Credits, a commercial product allowing customers to fund solar waste treatment at various scales (10kg-1 tonne). The technology converts toxic waste into reusable construction materials, enabling zero-carbon industrial processes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Crédit Dépollution (Depollution Credit): A donation-based program where contributions directly fund solar depollution technology to neutralize industrial waste. Donors receive certificates and regular updates on waste treated.
• Néobéton (Neoconcrete)

Products and services

• Solar Furnace / Solar Concentrator Industrial-scale solar concentration system using giant Fresnel lenses (up to 100 m²) that converts sunlight directly into heat at up to 4,000°C for waste vitrification and material transformation. Sold/licensed to industrial enterprises in construction, cement, and energy sectors for treatment of mineral waste, sludge, and sediments.
• Depollution Credit (Crédit Dépollution) Donation-based product where individuals and organizations purchase pollution removal credits that fund solar waste treatment via Heliosand's solar furnace technology. Priced by weight of pollution removed (10 kg to 1 tonne). Donors receive a personalized certificate and updates on waste treated. Available as one-time or recurring contributions with no minimum.
• Neoconcrete (Néobéton) Next-generation construction material produced from vitrified industrial waste, fully replacing cement, clinker, and aggregates in a single material for circular, carbon-free construction. Sold to construction industry buyers as a circular-economy alternative to traditional concrete inputs.
• Industrial Waste Treatment Services B2B service contracts with industrial companies (construction, cement, energy) for processing their mineral waste, sludge, and sediments using Heliosand's solar furnace technology. Revenue from processing fees per tonne of waste converted.

Quantifiable outcome

• 80% energy conversion efficiency from sunlight to usable heat
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NGE GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023NGE Group, a major construction group, has commissioned an industrial pilot project with Heliosand for treating extraction sludge, particularly related to tunnel construction work. This represents the company's first commercial deployment contract.
• Dubai Sovereign Wealth FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHeliosand is creating a subsidiary with a Dubai sovereign wealth fund for international expansion, including deployment of solar furnaces in the Middle East region for construction projects.
• VinciminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVinci has shown interest in Heliosand's solar furnace technology for potential construction applications. Initial discussions and project explorations underway.
• VicatminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCement producer Vicat is exploring collaboration opportunities to potentially use vitrified waste materials in cement production processes.
• EDFminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEDF exploring use of solar furnaces to process sediments and sludge from power plants, transforming waste into concrete material.
• Ghislaine TorresminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMentor for industrial strategy; former leader of industrial microwave oven company; supports high-potential startups at LES PREMIÈRES incubator in Lyon.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Heliogen: Heliogen is a US-based solar concentration company using heliostat arrays to deliver high-temperature industrial heat (up to ~1,000°C+) for cement, mining, and other heavy industries. Most direct technology peer to Heliosand in deploying concentrated solar energy for industrial process heat decarbonization.
• BrightSource Energy: BrightSource develops utility-scale concentrated solar power (CSP) tower plants using heliostat fields. Comparable in solar concentration technology stack though focused on electricity generation rather than industrial process heat.
• Glasspoint: Glasspoint builds enclosed trough solar steam generators for industrial applications (originally oil & gas enhanced oil recovery, now industrial heat). Directly comparable to Heliosand as a solar thermal industrial process heat provider with similar deployment model.
• Absolicon: Swedish company manufacturing parabolic trough solar collectors for industrial process heat up to 400°C across food, textile, and chemical sectors. Comparable in deploying solar thermal for industrial decarbonization, though at lower temperatures than Heliosand's 4,000°C vitrification process.
• Sundrop Farms: Sundrop uses concentrated solar thermal to power greenhouse agriculture and seawater desalination in arid regions. Comparable in deploying concentrated solar for industrial processes at scale in desert geographies (Australia, Saudi Arabia, US).

Emerging players

• CarbonCure Technologies: Canadian company injecting captured CO₂ into concrete during production to reduce cement content and carbon footprint. Comparable as a circular-economy construction materials player targeting cement decarbonization, though via different chemistry than Heliosand's vitrification approach.
• Solidia Technologies: Solidia produces lower-carbon concrete and binders using CO₂ curing instead of traditional cement hydration. Comparable as an emerging circular construction materials company targeting the same cement decarbonization customer base (cement producers, construction firms).
• CarbonUpcycling: Canadian company converting industrial CO₂ emissions and waste materials into supplementary cementitious materials. Adjacent in combining waste valorization with construction material production, though uses different feedstock and process than Heliosand.

Broad incumbents

• Veolia (Waste Solutions): Veolia operates hazardous waste vitrification facilities (e.g., through its Kurion acquisition) and broad industrial waste management services. A broad incumbent in waste treatment that competes for the same industrial waste streams Heliosand targets, with vastly greater resources and established customer relationships.

Regional players

• Sunseeker Solar Technologies: European-focused developer of concentrated solar thermal systems for decentralized industrial applications. Comparable in business model (deploying smaller-scale concentrated solar for industry) though operating in different geographies than Heliosand's France/MENA focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@HELIOSAND_official
• Facebookfacebook.com/people/Heliosand/61572867910142
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/heliosand
• Instagraminstagram.com/heliosand_official
• TikToktiktok.com/@heliosand_official

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Heliosand