European battery startups are focusing on specialized materials and manufacturing technology as the region searches for ways to compete after high-profile failures including Northvolt and Morrow. Dutch companies LeydenJar and Powall are taking a different approach, developing components and nanotechnology that could improve existing batteries rather than trying to manufacture complete cells.
The shift follows bankruptcies at Sweden’s Northvolt and Norway’s Morrow, which had sought to establish large-scale European battery manufacturing. Growing electrification means battery demand is still expected to rise, but lengthy development cycles and strong competition from Chinese manufacturers make large projects costly and risky.
LeydenJar Uses Pure Silicon to Increase Battery Capacity
LeydenJar is developing a pure silicon anode using plasma deposition, a manufacturing method with roots in the semiconductor industry. Silicon can store substantially more energy than materials used in conventional anodes, but it expands and contracts during charging, causing it to crack.
LeydenJar deposits silicon in extremely thin layers to create a foil designed to remain stable during repeated charging. The company says its technology can increase battery energy density by up to 50%, while also supporting faster charging and longer battery life.
After roughly a decade of development, LeydenJar is preparing its PlantOne production facility in Eindhoven. CEO Christian Rood said Eindhoven’s semiconductor ecosystem provides access to manufacturing expertise and suppliers needed to turn laboratory research into industrial production.
Rather than manufacturing complete batteries, LeydenJar aims to occupy a critical position in the supply chain. Rood compared the approach with Dutch semiconductor equipment company ASML, which does not manufacture chips but supplies technology essential to producing them.
Nanocoatings Could Improve Existing Battery Materials
Delft-based Powall is applying a similar semiconductor-derived approach to battery powders. Its technology uses atomic layer deposition to place coatings measured in nanometres around individual particles used in battery materials.
The coatings can protect materials from degradation and allow manufacturers to use chemistries that offer properties such as faster charging or greater capacity but otherwise lack durability. Powall says its gas-phase nanocoating process can precisely control coating thickness and scale from laboratory development to industrial production.
Both companies already have commercial relationships with Asian customers, reflecting the international nature of the battery supply chain. Their approach would allow Europe to supply specialized technology even when much of the world’s battery manufacturing occurs elsewhere.
Mercator Institute for China Studies analyst Alexander Brown said controlling an advanced, high-margin part of the supply chain could give Europe a valuable position. He cautioned, however, that China is also investing heavily in domestic alternatives to specialized foreign technologies.
Financing remains another challenge. Rood said European funding is available, but companies often need to combine government grants, debt, European Investment Bank support and private investment because investors tend to have a different appetite for risk than those in the U.S. or Asia.
Featured image credits: Magnific.com
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