storage

Germany

Qkera secures pre-seed funding to accelerate the commercialisation of next-generation batteries

Qkera, a TUM and MIT spin-off working on next-generation ceramic electrolytes for Li-Ion batteries, has announced the completion of a seven-digit pre-seed funding round led by InnoEnergy and supported by strategic angel investors, including Martin Götzeler, (formerly CEO of Osram, Aixtron and DSpace), Prof. Thomas Bein (Chair of Nanoscience at LMU Munich) and Dr Andreas Kohl (formerly of Apple and Nanoscape).  
From Left: Andreas Weis, Jennifer Rupp, Steffen Weinmann.
From Left: Andreas Weis, Jennifer Rupp, Steffen Weinmann. Courtesy of Qkera Group.

The capital will accelerate Qkera’s mission to enable powerful and sustainable energy storage while strengthening the European supply chain and energy independence. 

The company is developing a drop-in product for current and next-generation batteries that enables them to hold more energy, charge faster, and fundamentally increases their safety. Based on over six years of research at leading institutions such as MIT and TUM, the technology involves a breakthrough chemical process that produces thin, flexible ceramic membranes in a single, high-yield step at significantly reduced temperatures. This process is set to overcome the most significant limitations of current ceramic electrolyte designs, which are brittle, thick, and costly to produce due to the need for high-temperature sintering. This will enable the mass production of the most reliable and high-performing material for next-generation battery designs.

With initial market validation already underway, Qkera is seeking strong and well-established partners to assist with further validation, scaling and industrialisation.

“We are absolutely delighted about this step” said Dr Andreas Weis, Qkera's managing director. “Within our first year of incorporation, we have demonstrated a solution to arguably the most important pain point in the production of ceramic electrolytes for the battery industry: scalability and affordability. With this funding, we plan to scale up our process to larger formats and finalise our first development agreements to advance next-generation battery technology. We see enormous potential in cooperating with established companies to develop innovative solutions and boost European technological prowess.”

With a patent family already filed and more on the way, Qkera is already in talks and cooperation with major OEMs and battery manufacturers in Europe and is laying the groundwork for a pilot line in 2026.  

“We are delighted to be working with Qkera on the next generation of solid-state batteries” added Christian Bauer, CEO DACH at InnoEnergy. “The electrolyte component developed by Qkera has the potential to help this key technology achieve a breakthrough in a rapidly growing market. With higher energy density, shorter charging times and a flexible form factor, it offers decisive advantages for applications ranging from electric cars to smartphones. We are impressed not only by the technology, but also by Qkera's excellent team. As a new investor, we will leverage our entire ecosystem of industry partners and over 30 energy storage start-ups to actively support Qkera in its move into the mass market.”

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Qkera

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