On July 4, 2025, the European Commission announced that six electric vehicle battery cell manufacturing projects will share €852 million in grants through its Innovation Fund.
Leclanché GmbH’s proposal to expand its existing facility in Willstätt, Germany, was selected from 14 submissions across eight countries following evaluation by an independent panel of experts.
The EU Innovation Fund grants are designed to accelerate investment in the Union’s battery manufacturing sector by supporting capital and operational expenditures. These awards form part of a broader European strategy to foster clean, competitive, and resilient battery production, while reducing dependency on imports.
“This selection marks a major milestone for Leclanché and confirms the strategic importance of our technology and local presence in Europe. It also highlights the maturity of our project, as only the most advanced proposals were selected,” said Pierre Blanc, CEO of Leclanché. “With the selection of our project for funding under the Innovation Fund call, our water based PFAS free technology has been recognised as innovative and technologically mature.”
Following the announcement, Leclanché will prepare the required grant documentation and annexes before signing a funding agreement with the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) in the third quarter of 2025. Subject to final approval and the company’s own financing arrangements, project activities at the Willstätt site are expected to commence in January 2026. The granted funds will complement Leclanché’s investment to support the scale-up of its PFAS-free cell production.
Leclanché, established in 1909 in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland, provides low-carbon lithium-ion energy storage solutions with production facilities in Germany and representative offices worldwide. The company is organized into energy storage, e-mobility, and specialty battery business units and employs more than 350 people across eight countries.
Source: Leclanché
