Partners for Smart Gearboxes: Nanotec and Kraken

Summary

March 31, 2022 - To develop drive systems with sensor technology for industrial automation, Nanotec Electronic invests in Kraken Innovations. Together with the Graz-based startup, Nanotec aims to bring an innovative, high-performance gearbox to series maturity. The patented kinematics ensures very high power density, precision and torsional rigidity. In combination with sensors integrated in the gearbox, such as for torque and speed, the result is an extremely compact unit that will set new standards in many areas.

“The collaboration with Kraken Innovations is strategically significant for expanding our mechatronics portfolio,” says Dr. Christian Hainzlmaier, CTO at Nanotec. “Kraken's work on the Smart Gear lays a very solid foundation for drive innovations that can be produced in series.”

Kraken founder Philipp Eisele, in turn, hopes to access international markets: “Nanotec's global sales experience opens key markets of industrial automation that we would like to tap into with our gearbox concept.”

About Nanotec

Nanotec was founded in 1991 and is now among the leading manufacturers of motors and controllers/drives for industrial automation and medical engineering applications. The company has been based in Feldkirchen near Munich/Germany since 2011. With some 250 employees in Germany, Bulgaria, the US and China, Nanotec serves customers around the world.

Kraken Innovations 

Kraken Innovations, a successful spin-off company from the Graz University of Technology, has, with the Smart Gear gearbox concept, already been granted national patents for coaxial gearboxes (2019) and geared motors (2020). The startup is focused on the development of drive systems with intelligent connectivity.