The funding will support scaling industrial battery production and advancing proprietary electrode technologies designed for high-performance, specialised use cases.
UniverCell, a European manufacturer of high-performance lithium-ion battery cells and electrodes, has raised a €30 million Series B financing round.
The round was co-led by the DeepTech & Climate Fonds (DTCF), IKA and WIKA, with strong support from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund.
Founded in 2019 in Kiel, Germany, UniverCell has grown into an industrial-scale battery manufacturer with more than 82 employees.
The company operates a gigafactory in Northern Germany with production capacity ready to scale beyond 1.5 GWh, focusing on custom-made lithium-ion cells and electrodes for high-performance special applications, including satellites and space systems, and critical care medical devices.
UniverCell’s competitive advantage lies in its deep mastery of industrial production processes, particularly in electrode manufacturing and cell assembly—including 21700 cylindrical cells with a tabless design, lightweight aluminium housings, and process-stable formation—the central performance driver of lithium-ion batteries. All anodes and cathodes are developed and produced in-house, enabling high reproducibility, low scrap rates, and fast changeover times for customer-specific projects.
“At the heart of every high-performance battery is a production process you truly control,” said Marius Strack, co-founder of UniverCell.
“Our focus has always been on industrial execution and scalable manufacturing in Europe.”
A key technological differentiator is UniverCell’s industrial dry-coating process for electrodes. Compared to conventional wet coating methods, dry coating significantly reduces energy consumption, chemical usage, and CO₂ emissions, while improving electrode microstructure and overall cell performance in terms of energy density, charging capability, and cycle life.
“Dry coating allows us to combine performance, cost efficiency, and sustainability at an industrial scale,” said Dr Stefan Permien, co-founder of UniverCell.
“This is increasingly critical as regulatory and environmental requirements continue to rise.”
In strategic collaboration with IKA, a leading manufacturer of innovative process technology, the company is conducting a comprehensive development program in the field of dry coating, encompassing further development, piloting, and large-scale series production.
“We are impressed with UniverCells’ entrepreneurial journey over the last few years. Stefan and Marius have continuously grown the business through collaborations with industrial players, and they built substantial knowledge and relationships over the years. Now, we are looking forward to supporting their next step of business development for assembling their proprietary cells,” said Dr Elisabeth Schrey, Venture Partner at DTCF.
“The European Battery sector is in a critical situation with pressure from Chinese JVs. At the same time electrification in high performance applications shows a promising opportunity to create a local champion and secure independent supply chains.”
Svetoslava Georgieva, Chair of the EIC Fund Board, said:
“UniverCell represents exactly the kind of European deep-tech champion the EIC Fund was created to support. The company combines strong technological differentiation with clear industrial relevance in one of Europe’s most strategic value chains.
The Company has made impressive progress in translating advanced battery technology into commercial traction.”
The new capital will be used to scale production capacity, further advance UniverCell’s proprietary electrode and cell technologies, and strengthen competitive, sustainable battery cell manufacturing in Europe.