TerraVac takes film-based perlite vacuum insulation from development to production, delivering market-ready systems with real value for our customers.

About us

Profile

TerraVac was founded in Karlstadt in December 2023 with a clear mission.

We make vacuum insulation affordable and industrially scalable.

TerraVac is built on more than a decade of research and development within the Liebherr Group. Our perlite vacuum technology was developed, tested and proven under real production conditions long before TerraVac became a company in its own right. This history is our foundation.

Around 20 specialists. Our own laboratories. A technology protected by more than 50 patents, developed since 2012. And in Liebherr, a shareholder that thinks long term. TerraVac combines the technological depth of an established company with the agility of a start-up. Neither is a coincidence. It is the reason we exist.

14+

years of technology history

50+

patents

20+

specialists

competences

Eight competencies.
One system.

Vacuum insulation works when physics, materials, process and manufacturing are considered together.

TerraVac brings the entire development chain together under one roof – from the physical principles to an affordable serial product.

Physics

We understand vacuum – from theory to application.

Vacuumphysics: Measuring and reliably interpreting gas flows, pressure profilesand leaks
Sorption: Determining how materials absorb and release gas – including the influence of temperature
Heat transfer: Taking every heat-conduction mechanism into account and designing products for thermal performance
Modelling and simulation: 20 years of experience – continuously cross-checked against measurement results and manufacturing practice

Measurement Technology

We develop our own measurement technology – for every key parameter in vacuum insulation.

Perforator: Residual gas analysis directly on the finished product
Heat flux sensor: Non-contact testing of finished vacuum components
Permeationsmessung: Testing the gas tightness of high-barrier films – with greater precision than manufacturers’ data sheets provide
Gas-pressure-dependent thermal conductivity: The basis for reliable statements on ageing and service life

Quality Assurance

We look at product, materials, process and manufacturing as a whole – data-driven.

Process data: Complete, end-to-end recording as the basis for quality assurance and a digital representation of production (‘digital twin’)
Statistical analysis and data science: Spotting correlations and patterns early, before they turn into problems

Materials

We know the core materials of vacuum insulation – and how they interact within the product.

Perlite: Tested and quality-assured from the mine to the finished product
High-barrier films and other highly gas-tight envelopes: Selected, tested and mastered
Other core materials: Wherever it makes sense

Process

We develop processes that are designed for industrialisation from the very start.

Evacuation: Creating a vacuum time-efficiently and sealing products to stay tight for their entire service life
Joining technology: Creating highly gas-tight joints – including between metal and film
Film handling: Processing delicate high-barrier films without damage
Forming: Shaping perlite into stable three-dimensional bodies
Sealing methods: Bonding materials thermally – vacuum-tight or mechanically robust

Machinery

We turn processes into automated systems – from initial idea to pilot plant, all from a single source.

In-house machine and fixture construction: Ready-to-use systems for small-batch production, scalable to large-scale series production
Large-scale production lines: In close collaboration with specialised partners

Manufacturing

We manufacture with a high degree of flexibility – and our in-depth process knowledge allows us to implement changes in a targeted way.

Fully digitalised production: Capturing data across the entire process and using it for process control
Highest quality: In-house measurement technology and data-driven control
‘Design for Manufacturing’: Optimising product and production method together
New manufacturing processes: Producing familiar products with entirely new insulation technology and a modified architecture

Product

We think through products thermally from start to finish – treating insulation as part of the overall system, not as an isolated component.

Broad range of applications: Refrigeration appliances, district heating pipes, hot water storage tanks and building insulation
Active cooling: Solutions for domestic and commercial use
Technology transfer: Bringing highly innovative technology into existing products – up to and including a new product architecture

Liebherr-Hausgeräte

Where the technology began.

TerraVac emerged from Liebherr-Hausgeräte GmbH, one of the world's leading manufacturers of refrigerators and freezers. The perlite vacuum technology was developed and tested over several years under real production conditions. Liebherr was the first customer to take it into high-volume production with BluRoX.

Liebherr BluRoX

History

How TerraVac came about.

2012 - 2017

Technology development starts together with the inventors.

Pilot production of panels and doors for freezers starts.

2019 - 2022

Quiet market launch in the door of the FNb505i upright freezer, with the technology marketed as BluRoX.

High-volume production of refrigerators and freezers set up at the Ochsenhausen site.

2023

TerraVac founded as a corporate start-up.

2024

Development and construction of a large box for transporting ice cores from Antarctica to Australia.

2025

Development and construction of prototypes for hot water storage tanks, district heating pipes, a refrigerated drawer, transport boxes and various panels such as doors and lids.

Further development of the technology and patenting of metal-to-film bonding, allowing the inner container to serve as a vacuum-tight envelope.

2026

Market launch of the FNXa522i upright freezer, fully insulated with perlite vacuum insulation.

Series development of hot water storage tanks, district heating pipes and refrigerated drawers starts together with partners.

Planning and implementation of our own production for small and large series of various products begins.

Our promise to customers

We develop high-performance, tailor-made vacuum insulation and thermoelectric cooling.

We help companies make their products more energy efficient, more resource efficient and ready for the future.

We do this by combining deep physics know-how with hands-on implementation, and by working with our partners as equals through analysis, prototyping and genuine collaboration.

This enables them to take bold steps with new technology and bring about lasting change with substance.

key people

Your contacts

Hanno Großeschmidt

Chief Executive Officer

Hanno leads TerraVac as CEO and has taken the path from technology to market-ready company once before, as managing director of Encory, a joint venture of the BMW Group and interzero. He is the one who brings everything together when a first conversation is to become a joint project, covering the business model, framework and commitment across every phase of the collaboration.

Markus Stieglbauer

Head of Business Development

As Head of Business Development, Markus focuses on where vacuum insulation already solves problems today and where it will tomorrow. He is your first point of contact if you want to find out whether your application is one of them, from an open first conversation to a joint assessment of whether a project works technically and economically.

Jochen Hiemeyer

Head of Technology

Jochen has worked on vacuum insulation as a physicist for more than 20 years, many of them at Liebherr-Hausgeräte. As Head of Technology, he develops our products and is responsible for their implementation along the entire value chain, from product architecture and manufacturing processes to quality assurance. When it comes to the physics behind the insulation, talk to him.

Jonas Rodi

Senior Manager Projects & Purchasing

Jonas has helped drive the industrialisation of perlite vacuum insulation in various roles. He leads customer projects both technically and organisationally, translating requirements into solutions and making sure commitments turn into results.

Hanno Großeschmidt

Chief Executive Officer

Hanno führt TerraVac als CEO und hat den Weg von der Technologie zum marktreifen Unternehmen bereits einmal durchlaufen als Geschäftsführer von Encory, einem Joint Venture der BMW Group und interzero. Bei ihm laufen die Fäden zusammen, wenn aus einem ersten Gespräch ein gemeinsames Projekt werden soll: Geschäftsmodell, Rahmenbedingungen und Verbindlichkeit über alle Phasen der Zusammenarbeit hinweg.

Markus Stieglbauer

Head of Business Development

Markus verantwortet als Head of Business Development die Frage, wo Vakuumdämmung heute schon Probleme löst und wo sie es morgen tun wird. Er ist der erste Ansprechpartner, wenn Sie prüfen wollen, ob Ihre Anwendung dazugehört: vom offenen Erstgespräch bis zur gemeinsamen Bewertung, ob sich ein Projekt technisch und wirtschaftlich trägt.

Jochen Hiemeyer

Head of Technology

Jochen arbeitet seit mehr als 20 Jahren als Physiker an Vakuumdämmung, davon viele Jahre bei Liebherr Hausgeräte. Als Head of Technology entwickelt er unsere Produkte und verantwortet ihre Umsetzung entlang der gesamten Wertschöpfungskette von der Produktarchitektur über die Fertigungsprozesse bis zur Qualitätssicherung. Wenn es um die Physik hinter der Dämmung geht, sprechen Sie mit ihm.

Jonas Rodi

Senior Manager Projects & Purchasing

Jonas hat die Industrialisierung der Perlit-Vakuumdämmung in verschiedenen Rollen mit vorangetrieben. Als technischer Projektverantwortlicher führt er Kundenprojekte inhaltlich und organisatorisch — er übersetzt Anforderungen in Lösungswege und sorgt dafür, dass aus Zusagen Ergebnisse werden.

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