befc

What befc does

BeFC is a French deep-technology company founded in May 2020 as a CNRS spin-off, headquartered in the Grenoble region (Villard-Bonnot / Gières). The company has developed what it describes as the world's first metal-free, paper-based biofuel cell — a sustainable alternative to miniature button-cell and coin-cell batteries. The core technology uses enzymes and carbon paper electrodes to convert glucose and oxygen into electricity through biocatalysis; the cells are ultra-thin, flexible, recyclable, and industrially compostable, and can be activated by environmental or biological fluids including sweat, blood, and urine. BeFC has extended the platform into two product lines: the BeFC Tag (a biofuel cell-powered active electronic sensor tag supporting NFC, UHF RFID, BLE, Sigfox, and LoRaWAN protocols for tracking temperature, humidity, light, pressure, and motion) and the BeFC Patch (real-time healthcare insight technology). The intellectual property is protected by over 30 international patents, a fivefold increase from seed stage.

BeFC generates revenue through three streams: sale of customised biofuel cell hardware, sale of active sensor tag products, and Joint Development Agreement (JDA) fees for bespoke solution development. Pricing is quote-based with multi-year enterprise contracts. The go-to-market is enterprise field sales targeting Fortune 500, FTSE 100, and Nasdaq-listed customers, supplemented by an event-driven presence at CES, VivaTech, and other industry conferences, and channel partnerships with technology companies (notably ONiO, Avery Dennison, DS Smith, and HIC). The company targets six end-use verticals: healthcare and medical devices, smart logistics and supply chain, smart packaging, agriculture tech, Industry 4.0, and environmental sensing/defence.

The company has raised approximately €19M in dilutive funding (€3M seed in 2020, €16M Series A in June 2023) plus undisclosed non-dilutive support from Bpifrance, Ademe, and the European Commission. As of the Series A, BeFC had a team of 45, 10+ active JDAs with enterprise customers, and a stated production capacity target of 1 million units per day by end of 2024 using high-throughput ink-based printing. BeFC has been repeatedly recognised through CES Innovation Awards (2021-2023), Solar Impulse Efficient Solution Label, French Tech Green20, UNWTO SDGs Global Startup Competition, and the November 2024 Sustainability Awards (Pre-Commercialized Renewable Materials) jointly with Avery Dennison. ISO 9001 certification was achieved in March 2026. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed.

Name

befc

Legal name

BeFC SAS

Website

https://befc.global

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Short description

BeFC is a French deep-tech company developing paper-based enzymatic biofuel cells and active sensor tags as sustainable, metal-free alternatives to miniature coin-cell batteries for enterprise customers in healthcare, smart logistics, smart packaging, and IoT.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainable Biofuel Cell Technology

NAICS

Electrical Equipment Manufacturing (3353), Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519), Electromedical and Electrotherapeutic Apparatus Manufacturing (334510)

SIC

Electronic & Other Electrical Equipment (No Computer Equip) (3600), Electromedical & Electrotherapeutic Apparatus (3845)

akta.pro primary industry

Microturbines, Fuel Cells & Distributed Generation Prime Movers (IMAHAFAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sensor Fusion, Interface ICs & Modules (AFE/Readout/Packaging/Calibration) (HDAHALAO)

Keywords

• Paper biofuel cells
• Bioenzymatic fuel cells
• Active sensor tags
• Smart logistics tracking
• Sustainable battery alternatives

Headquarters

HQ city

Gières

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Biofuel Cell Hardware Sales: Sale of paper-based biofuel cells as sustainable battery alternatives for low-power electronics. Cells can be customized in shape, size, and performance for specific applications.
2. Active Sensor Tag Products: Sale of electronic sensor tags powered by biofuel cells that collect and transmit environmental data. Includes modular active electronic tags with bespoke sensors.
3. Joint Development Agreements: Collaborative development agreements with enterprise customers (Fortune 500, FTSE 100, Nasdaq-listed) to develop customized solutions for specific market verticals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

BeFC develops and manufactures paper-based biofuel cells that use enzymes and carbon paper electrodes to convert glucose and oxygen into electricity, providing a metal-free, compostable alternative to miniature button-cell batteries for low-power electronics. The company also produces active electronic sensor tags integrating multiple sensors (temperature, humidity, light, pressure, accelerometer) with multi-protocol wireless communication (NFC, UHF RFID, BLE, Sigfox, LoRaWAN) for applications in healthcare, smart logistics, smart packaging, IoT, environmental sensing, and defense.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BeFC Tag: A Track & Trace Technology product for sustainable smart logistics solutions.
• BeFC Patch

Products and services

• BeFC Tag (Active Sensor Tag) BeFC Tag is a biofuel cell-powered active electronic sensor tag targeting wearable, medical, IoT, Industry 4.0, and smart logistics applications. It collects environmental data from multiple sensors, stores it locally, and transmits wirelessly over multiple protocols for asset tracking, condition monitoring, and supply chain visibility.
• BeFC Patch

Quantifiable outcome

• 15 billion primary batteries disposed of every year with 97% ending in landfill
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and incubator.

• ONiOcoreTechnology or Integration · 25 November 2025Strategic partnership to accelerate sustainable next-generation smart devices across healthcare, logistics, smart packaging, environmental sensing, and defense. Co-developing turnkey reference designs including glucose monitors, temperature patches, and cold-chain trackers. ONiO.zero ultra-low-power microcontroller combined with BeFC's metal-free paper-based energy source creates highly efficient foundation for battery-free smart electronics.
• DS SmithcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 April 2024World-first smart trackers made out of recyclable paper and powered by biofuel cells for smart packaging solutions. Partnership accelerates smart packaging solutions using BeFC's sustainable energy technology integrated into DS Smith's packaging products.
• HIC (Healthcare Innovation Centre)supportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 3 January 2024HIC supports BeFC's international growth into the UK market, providing market access and localization support for healthcare and medical device applications in the United Kingdom.
• SATT LinksiumincubatorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIncubator support from Linksium, the technology transfer company of the Grenoble ecosystem. François HEDE (CEO) and Jean-Philippe GENDRE (Business & Equity Director) involved in supporting company formation.
• Avery DennisoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSustainability Awards 2024 winner in Pre-Commercialized Renewable Materials category. Partnership using Avery Dennison materials in BeFC's organic battery technology for IoT applications.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Imprint Energy: Imprint Energy manufactures printed, flexible zinc-based batteries for low-power IoT and wearable electronics — the closest functional analogue to BeFC's printed, paper-based biofuel cells serving similar ultra-low-power device categories.
• Enfucell: Enfucell (formerly PowerPaper) develops printed paper-based batteries for single-use disposable IoT and medical applications, comparable to BeFC's metal-free paper biofuel cells in form factor, target use case, and printable thin-film architecture.
• Wiliot: Wiliot produces battery-free IoT sensor tags that harvest ambient energy for supply-chain visibility — directly comparable to BeFC's biofuel-cell-powered Active Sensor Tag targeting smart logistics, cold-chain, and packaging asset tracking.
• BrightVolt: BrightVolt makes thin-film solid-state micro-batteries for IoT sensors, wearables, and smart packaging — comparable to BeFC in ultra-thin, flexible form factor and low-power IoT target applications.
• Blue Spark Technologies: Blue Spark Technologies offers printed carbon-zinc batteries integrated into thin, flexible IoT devices including medical patches — comparable in printed/thin-film construction and IoT/wearable target markets to BeFC's paper-based cells.

Emerging players

• PragmatIC Semiconductor: PragmatIC manufactures flexible integrated circuits for low-cost RFID and smart-packaging applications — adjacent technology with overlapping smart-packaging and IoT end markets, complementing BeFC's printed energy cells with printed intelligence.
• Ilika: Ilika develops solid-state micro-batteries for IoT, medical, and industrial sensors — comparable in miniature form factor, low-power target applications, and clinical / industrial qualification roadmap to BeFC's biofuel cells.

Others

• Avery Dennison: Avery Dennison is a global leader in RFID inlays and smart labels — both a co-development partner with BeFC (Sustainability Awards 2024) and an adjacent infrastructure provider shaping the smart-packaging / IoT-label market BeFC's cells power.

Broad incumbents

• Panasonic Energy: Panasonic is the world's largest coin-cell battery manufacturer (e.g., CR2032) and is the incumbent whose installed capacity and retail distribution set the cost benchmark BeFC's paper cells must meet to displace single-use miniature batteries at scale.
• Energizer Holdings: Energizer is a leading manufacturer of coin-cell and button-cell batteries across consumer electronics and IoT — the incumbent whose high-volume alkaline/silver-oxide production BeFC's metal-free paper cells are directly positioned to replace for low-power disposable use cases.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@befcglobal
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/befc
• Instagraminstagram.com/befc_global
• Xx.com/BeFC_global

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

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 befc