Image: OpenAI/GPT 5.2 (2025)/TU-Darmstadt
AI-supported optimization for the reduction of electricity consumption.
The start-up etalytics, a spin-off of TU Darmstadt, has achieved a significant reduction in electricity consumption at the Darmstadt headquarters of the science and technology company Merck through a joint initiative.
For this purpose, the Darmstadt-based start-up implemented its AI-supported software platform “etaONE,” which has since autonomously optimized a specific subsystem of the cooling infrastructure. As a result, electricity consumption for cooling at the site was reduced by 21 percent, according to both partners.
According to the company, Merck’s headquarters is one of the Group’s largest energy consumers worldwide, with particularly high energy demand for cooling in pharmaceutical production. The need for cooling arises primarily from the air conditioning of offices, laboratories, and storage facilities.
At the Darmstadt site, etalytics’ software platform now manages the interaction between chillers, cooling towers, and pumps. The optimization is carried out purely through software, without any structural modifications and without interrupting ongoing production processes.
Based on the results of the project, there are plans to extend the optimization to additional cooling systems at the site.