Bringing visionary ideas to life

The magic lies in our technology platform and the simplicity of our main material

Design Freedom

Our engineers support you in designing your part from the very beginning. We offer exceptional geometric freedom, enabling designs beyond the limits of conventional manufacturing. Using sallea’s salt core allows for highly complex shapes, including sharp corners, internal channels, and hollow structures.

Salt Core Production

In the next step, the salt core is produced using additive manufacturing, not requiring any tooling. Our technology ensures a smooth surface finish while providing the mechanical and thermal stability needed to withstand high temperatures and pressures during manufacturing.

Composite Placement

At this stage, full control remains in your hands: our cores are designed to integrate seamlessly with your existing manufacturing processes, whether you use VARTM, prepreg, wet layup, filament winding, or another method. The result is maximum flexibility without disrupting your workflow.

Removal of sallea’s Salt Core

Core removal has never been easier. sallea salt cores dissolve easily in water, eliminating complex demolding or secondary removal operations. Our cores leave no toxic residue in the water and thus no additional filtration steps are required, making it fast, clean, and environmentally sustainable.

Your Final Part Is Ready

The result is a complex hollow part, manufactured as a single, integrated component. The technology also enables topology optimization through internal geometries, unlocking value and innovation potential across a wide range of products and industries.

Why We Chose Salt

We chose salt for its simplicity, abundance, and versatility. Naturally occurring, widely available, and remarkably stable, it has been used for centuries to preserve, protect, and transform. As a raw material, it offers a reliable foundation for thoughtful manufacturing: maintaining its shape under pressure, being chemically stable and dissolving reliably in water.

For us salt is the obvious choice.
It always has been.

Our Story

2026

Expanding the Technology Platform

Building on insights from this first application, sallea broadens the scope of its technology. The salt-core platform makes the manufacturing of complex geometries from carbon composites and polymers more efficient and enables new geometries, opening opportunities across new industries and materials.

2025

Application in Biomanufacturing

sallea developed ProteinPURE, the first plant-based high-precision scaffolds based on its salt-core technology. Designed for cellular agriculture and biomanufacturing, the edible scaffolds enable companies to grow structured tissues more efficiently, demonstrating the power of the technology in a demanding industrial application.

2024

Pre-seed Round

sallea secures CHF 2.2M in pre-seed funding and is recognized among the Top 100 Swiss Startups through Venture Kick. The funding enables the company to scale development of its platform and to bring the first commercial products to market.

2023

Incorporation

With the clear goal of translating the technology into practical solutions, sallea AG has been incorporated in November 2023. Anna Bünter joins as co-founder and CCO, strengthening the link between scientific innovation and industrial applications.

2022

From Research to Venture

The research evolves into a scalable technology platform for 3D scaffolds. The project receives the prestigious ETH Pioneer Fellowship and wins first place in the ETH 3Pi pitch competition, supporting the transition from academic research to real-world applications.

2020

The Foundation

Simona Fehlmann and Nicole Kleger begin working together at ETH Zürich during their Master’s and PhD research, building the foundation of sallea’s technology. Their work explores 3D printing of salt-based materials to enable the manufacturing of complex architectures from a wide range of materials for advanced biological and material applications.