Auburn Hills’ Faurecia Invests in Traverse City Automotive Heating and Cooling Startup for Cockpit of the Future

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Faurecia, an automotive technology company in Auburn Hills, Wednesday announced it has invested in Promethient, a Traverse City-based startup that designs and produces a climate control technology that is adaptable for multiple vehicle thermal use cases.

“After having partnered last year with MAHLE, our investment in Promethient represents a new, important step in the development of innovative thermal management solutions,” says Nik Endrud, vice president for strategy and innovation at Faurecia Seating. “As the cockpit of the future will allow multiple-use cases and be occupant-centric, technologies for thermal comfort and climate control management integrated into the seating system will facilitate individual and personalized thermal management for all occupants.”

The investment is part of Faurecia’s dedication to thermal management technologies for future mobility solutions. Termavance heats and cools through conductive heat transfer, which offers higher efficiency than current convective technology.

“Our Thermavance system personalizes climate control while saving energy,” says William Myers, CEO of Promethient. “These are key considerations for automakers and are especially important in the growing electric vehicle segment. The partnership with Faurecia represents a significant step for us within the automotive industry and clearly demonstrates the value of Thermavance within the marketplace.”

The investment was made by Faurecia Ventures, which identifies, incubates, and invests in start-ups that have technologies relevant to the company.

Faurecia was founded in 1997 and now has 290 sites, including 30 R&D centers with 109,000 employees in 35 countries. It works in automotive seating, interior systems, and clean mobility, and has its global headquarters in France.