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REPS Funded to Turn Roads into Power Plants

[ May 28, 2026   //   Gary Burrows ]

Austrian cleantech startup REPS has secured US$23.6 million in equity financing to expand deployment of its Road Energy Production System, a technology designed to convert vehicle traffic into electrical energy.

The company said its patented system captures mechanical energy generated when vehicles brake or slow down and converts it into electricity using road-embedded infrastructure installed beneath traffic lanes.

REPS is initially targeting ports, logistics hubs, industrial sites and other high-traffic freight corridors where heavy vehicle movements are concentrated.

The first commercial installation has been operating at the Port of Hamburg since November 2025, where more than 115,000 trucks have crossed the system, generating over 6,700 kilowatt-hours of electricity under real-world operating conditions, according to the company.

“Roads are everywhere. Traffic is everywhere. What was previously wasted energy can now be transformed into clean electricity through REPS,” said Alfons Huber, founder and CEO.

The company said the technology is designed to operate at natural braking points including port entrances, loading areas, curves, exits and speed-controlled zones where kinetic energy losses are highest.

REPS said the Hamburg pilot project has generated interest from more than 90 organizations across the port, logistics and infrastructure sectors in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North America.

The company estimates that broader deployment throughout Hamburg’s port road network could eventually generate about 10 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually while reducing carbon emissions tied to port traffic.

REPS positions the technology as part of the growing “energy harvesting” sector, which seeks to recover otherwise wasted mechanical energy from transportation and industrial systems.

The funding round comes as ports, logistics operators and transportation infrastructure managers increasingly pursue technologies aimed at improving sustainability, reducing emissions and lowering energy costs amid broader supply-chain decarbonization efforts.

The company said it plans to begin larger-scale deployment by 2027.

Tags: REPS, Road Energy Production System