Paving the way to a future in renewable energy - literally

April, 2022

Potsdam-based renewable energy startup seeks to change the way we think of our roads.

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My grandpa, who once constructed and sold private airplanes, once asked me, “Do you know how to end up with a small fortune in the airplane industry?” I was curious. His answer: “Start off with a large fortune.”

As tongue-in-cheek as his response was, for companies like my grandfather’s airplane business that require a good deal of time and capital to take off, such is often the case. Despite the huge and publicly visible fortunes entrepreneurs like Elon Musk have amassed in the renewable energy industry, most startups unfortunately only end up with a small fortune because they started off with a bigger one.

Such threatens to be the case for Donald Müller-Judex. At age 56, Müller-Judex has already founded two successful companies. Now, he’s gained both the capital and the persistence to attempt his most revolutionary business idea yet—Solmove.

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Founded in 2014, Solmove builds solar streets, technology that would change our roads into energy-producing power grids that can glow, melt snow, power nearby buildings, and even charge electric vehicles as they drive.

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The need for such technology couldn’t be more dire. At the bottom of Solmove’s website sits an eerie global warming countdown, counting in real time just how much the average temperature of the Earth has risen as a result of human-emitted greenhouse gases, just how much we have to go until the Earth’s temperature has increased by a full 1.5 degrees Celsius, and just how many metric tons of carbon dioxide we have emitted (since you started reading, it’s increased by 80,000 tons).

When it comes to how we can reduce and ultimately stop greenhouse gas emissions that promise to harm ecosystems, extremify natural disasters, and displace entire regions, much is still up in the air. One thing has essentially reached consensus however: that we need to electrify the power grid. 

Thankfully, that’s something we’ve made a good deal of progress at in the last decade. Since 2009, 44 countries, the United States included, have committed to stop building coal power plants, and the once less-than-economical wind and solar powers have become 3 and 10 times cheaper respectively. That said, we still need to accelerate our progress, and transforming our roads into solar power plants would be a meaningful step in that direction.

Fortunately for businesses, doing so isn’t just an expensive opportunity for CSR, but an opportunity to make a real return on investment. In a life cycle of about 25 years, each square meter of solar road can earn upwards of 200 euros.

Still, if current trends continue, the sun may set for Solmove. Due to the high costs of manufacturing and installation, businesses just aren’t catching on to the opportunity. The company that once piqued the interest of Die Hohle der Löwen investors now has just one employee besides Müller Judex himself, Jonas Böttger.1 Like the company’s CEO, Böttger is purpose-driven and patient, qualities that are virtually requirements for anyone in this industry, and despite recent trends, Böttger remains committed to the cause. In our interview, he told us that he is “still optimistic about [Solmove’s] possibilities,” but his and Müller-Judex’s optimism alone won’t be enough to help their solar panels truly hit the road. What Solmove needs are investors and customers.

Will Solmove meet the fate of so many of the ambitious renewable energy ventures before it? Or will it actually be an idea that sticks? In many ways, that’s for us to decide.

You can learn more about Solmove and contribute to their cause at solmove.com

1 Die Hohle der Löwen is like the German version of Shark Tank