Porsche backs battery cell developer and producer Customcells in €60 million round

Fraunhofer Gesellschaft spinout Customcells has raised €60 million in a Series A round that will see the company further push into battery technologies aimed at the aviation industry. Specifically, the company will use the capital to bolster R&D efforts as it begins a push into both US and Asian markets.

The €60 million Series A round was led by European climate-focused VC house, World Fund, and saw the participation of Porsche, Abacon Capital, and Vsquared Ventures.

For all the hype that electric cars and their associated land-based mobility counterparts receive, I don’t know about you, but every time I step out of a Prius at the airport and watch plumes of dark (i.e. carbon) exhaust trailing behind aeroplanes queued on the tarmac before mine, I wonder when flying things are going to catch up with driving things. Say nothing for those sailing things (which Customcells is also looking into).

Well, it would appear as though my wondering days might be coming to a close, as Itzehoe (a town located Northwest of Hamburg) /Tübingen-based Customcells has received a significant boost in taking the burning of dead dinosaurs out of the boosting of aluminium objects into the sky.

While things aren’t exactly looking so great over at Customcells collaborator all-electric jet creator Lilium, according to the company, they’re working with a host of other leading aviation brands to get things off the ground as airlines, airplane manufacturers, transport, and logistics firms look to play their part in decarbonising an industry that’s responsible for over 2% of all global carbon emissions and has wreaked havoc on the ozone layer. 

"Our goal is to create and shape a new premium segment in the international battery cell market," commented Customcells CEO Dirk Abendroth. "This includes the next generation of battery cells that are tailor-made to meet the needs of our aviation industry customers. Customcells intends to stake a claim of ownership in the aviation segment which is the next great decarbonisation challenge the world faces.”

As you might recall, lead investor World Fund only invests in technologies with a Climate Performance Potential (CPP) of removing 100 million tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere annually by 2040. According to the fund’s CPP calculations, the battery performance and adoption use cases alone would play a significant role in helping reduce carbon emissions from the aviation sector. 

“The aviation industry is responsible for over 2% of all global emissions - it’s a huge uphill battle to decarbonise this sector, yet one with high reward,” commented World Fund’s Daria Saharova. “We’re very excited to join the journey of Customcells and support them to become a once-in-a-generation innovation platform in a sector the global economy is so reliant upon.”