Kiel-based battery startup UniverCell has closed a €30 million Series B funding round led by the DeepTech & Climate Fund (DTCF), with participation from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund.
Founded in 2019 by Stefan Permien and Marius Strack, the company plans to begin series production of its own lithium-ion cells this summer at its facility near Kiel, Germany.
Starting in June, UniverCell expects to manufacture 50,000 21700 cylindrical cells per month, with a clear roadmap to scale capacity significantly while keeping cost increases in check.
According to co-founder Stefan Permien, the company could reach an annual production capacity of around 1.3 gigawatt-hours by 2027.
UniverCell currently employs 83 people and has been developing and producing electrode films—the core component for energy storage—since November 2020. By handling all anode and cathode development in-house, the company achieves high reproducibility, low scrap rates, and fast changeover for custom projects.
Its cells are already deployed in high-performance applications such as satellites, space systems, and medical devices, and the business generated double-digit million-euro revenues in the last fiscal year.
A key differentiator is the industrial dry-coating process for electrodes, which significantly reduces energy consumption, chemical use, and CO₂ emissions compared with conventional wet coating, while delivering improved microstructure and enhanced cell performance.
“Dry coating allows us to combine performance, cost efficiency, and sustainability at industrial scale,” Permien said. In partnership with IKA, a leading process-technology provider, UniverCell is advancing a comprehensive development program from pilot trials to mass production.
Elisabeth Schrey, venture partner at DTCF, noted that the European battery sector faces mounting pressure from Chinese joint ventures, and that high-performance electrification presents an opportunity to build a local champion and secure independent supply chains.
Svetoslava Georgieva, chair of the EIC Fund Board, added, “UniverCell exemplifies the deep-tech leader the EIC Fund was created to support—strongly differentiated technology with clear industrial relevance in one of Europe’s most strategic value chains.”
The new capital will accelerate the scaling of production capacity, further development of proprietary electrode and cell technologies, and establishment of competitive, sustainable battery-cell manufacturing in Europe.
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