CSEM is a Swiss public–private innovation center (founded 1984) developing solid‑state lithium‑metal batteries, polymer electrolytes, thin‑film anodes, data‑driven BMS and pilot manufacturing facilities for EVs, grid storage, medical and industrial uses.
CSEM SA, founded in 1984 and headquartered in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, is a public–private non-profit technology innovation center with more than 630 employees across six Swiss sites. CSEM develops and transfers applied technologies to industry, focusing on precision manufacturing, digital energy, photonics, MEMS, and battery systems. Its mission is to strengthen industrial competitiveness through applied R&D, technology transfer, and collaborative projects with universities, startups, and industrial partners. The organization holds over 180 patent families and provides prototyping, pilot-scale facilities, and engineering expertise to accelerate commercialization of advanced technologies.
CSEM’s battery technology portfolio focuses on solid-state lithium‑metal systems and supporting materials engineering. Key technical work includes in‑situ polymerization of solid polymer electrolytes, engineered solid‑electrolyte interfaces, and ultra‑thin lithium‑metal anodes produced by vacuum thermal evaporation and PVD. These approaches target higher energy density, lower dendrite risk and improved safety and cycle life. CSEM pairs materials R&D with cell prototyping, aging studies, modeling and data‑driven battery management. Supporting infrastructure includes a dry room and a pilot pouch‑cell line to enable ambient processing and manufacturing scale‑up while reducing material waste per kWh.
CSEM offers prototype solid‑state cells, thin‑film lithium‑metal anodes, polymer electrolyte formulations, and system‑integration services including data‑driven BMS and cell modeling. The center provides access to pilot manufacturing (dry room and pouch‑cell line) for startups and industrial partners. Target applications include electric vehicles, stationary energy storage, medical devices, aerospace and industrial electronics where higher energy density, improved safety and longer cycle life are priorities.
In 2025 CSEM supported the launch of a TFLN foundry via spin‑off CCRAFT at ECOC 2025, targeting photonics, AI‑adjacent and quantum technologies. The organization opened Switzerland’s first dry room and a pilot pouch‑cell assembly line in 2025 to enable startups and SMEs to validate lithium‑metal processing. Recent collaborations include a research project with Ifremer on underwater LiDAR and Swiss partnerships on data‑driven organ‑on‑chip studies to predict lung cancer metastasis, advancing pilot capabilities and cross‑sector technology transfer.
CSEM operates under a mixed public–private ownership model. Public stakeholders—including the ETH domain, the Swiss Confederation and cantonal authorities—hold roughly 25% of equity; private industry and institutional investors hold the remainder. Corporate investor BKW Inc. holds a minority stake and has board representation since 2022. Funding sources include contract R&D, competitive European projects and public support.
