CustomCells secures a fresh start after insolvency

The insolvent German battery cell manufacturer CustomCells has secured a partial rescue with a new investor consortium, enabling a strategic repositioning focused on electric mobility. As reported by Handelsblatt, a takeover agreement was signed on Wednesday evening. There has been no official communication from CustomCells at the time of writing.

According to financial and negotiation sources, the winning consortium is led by existing investor Abacon, joined by two further capital providers.
“CustomCells is a highly innovative German battery pioneer with enormous potential,” commented Abacon CIO Sven Rossmann on behalf of the consortium.

According to the German newspaper, one of the additional investors is Salvia, the family office of Helmut Jeggle, who managed the wealth of biotech billionaires Thomas and Andreas Strüngmann for many years.

While precise details of the purchase price remain confidential, Handelsblatt spoke to sources familiar with the process, who indicate it lies in the low single-digit million-euro range. In addition, a further double-digit million sum is earmarked as a follow-up investment to maintain operational continuity and relaunch production under the new ownership structure.

The agreed solution centres on the Itzehoe site in northern Germany, where both the holding company and the operational core of the company are located. Operations will continue with a smaller workforce. As per report, around half of the current 160 employees will be retained.

Management will also change under the new regime. Former Chief Innovation Officer Jan Diekmann will join the executive board, while Benno Leuthner remains part of senior management. Former CEO Dirk Abendroth, previously a Continental executive board member, is leaving operational leadership but will continue to support CustomCells in an advisory capacity.

The insolvency of air taxi developer Lilium had triggered severe financial turbulence for CustomCells, a key battery supplier to the eVTOL startup. The company then filed for insolvency in April this year. With the new financial structure, CustomCells plans to focus more narrowly on high-performance battery cells for e-mobility applications, consolidating its workforce as part of a streamlined setup.

Before the insolvency, CustomCells positioned itself as a specialised supplier of particularly high-quality batteries. It develops and manufactures cells specialised for various applications with high power and energy density for market segments that are not served by the large Asian volume manufacturers. These include agricultural technology, premium automotive engineering, motorsport, electric aviation, defence technology and the off-road segment in general, such as heavy-duty, mining and maritime applications.

Founded back in 2012 as a spin-off of the German Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, CustomCells is considered one of the pioneers of battery cell development in Germany.

handelsblatt.com (in German)