CUSTOMCELLS ITZEHOE GMBH

Their core work

CustomCells Itzehoe GmbH is a German lithium-ion battery manufacturer that develops and produces custom battery cells for electric vehicle and advanced transport applications. Their core competence lies in the chemistry and physical production of high-performance cells — from high-voltage LNMO cathodes targeting the 2025 xEV market to semi-solid-state electrolyte systems for next-generation applications. In research consortia, they serve as the industrial manufacturing partner that translates laboratory chemistry into production-relevant cell formats. Their most technically ambitious work involves embedding functional battery cells directly into carbon fibre composite structures, where the battery itself becomes a load-bearing part of the vehicle or aircraft body.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

CustomCells entered H2020 through conventional high-voltage Li-ion cell chemistry — specifically LNMO cathodes and battery manufacturing processes aimed at making commercial EV cells viable for the 2025 automotive market. Within a year, their second project shifted sharply toward structural batteries: cells embedded inside carbon fibre composite panels where energy storage and load-bearing function are combined in a single material. This is a meaningful technical leap, from cells optimised for energy density in automotive packs to cells optimised for mechanical integration in aerospace composite structures. The trend suggests an intentional push toward higher-value, lower-volume specialty battery applications beyond the commodity EV market.

CustomCells is moving from automotive battery chemistry toward multifunctional structural battery systems — a niche where battery manufacturing expertise meets aerospace materials science, and where very few industrial partners can contribute credibly.

How they like to work

CustomCells has participated in H2020 exclusively as a partner, never as project coordinator, indicating they join consortia to contribute specific industrial manufacturing capability rather than to lead research agendas. Despite only two projects, they connected with 25 unique partners across 10 countries — consistent with medium-to-large collaborative projects where their role is to provide the battery fabrication know-how that academic and system-integration partners cannot replicate. They appear to function as the industrial anchor of a consortium: the organization that keeps research grounded in what can actually be manufactured.

With 25 unique consortium partners across 10 countries reached through just two projects, CustomCells operates within large, internationally structured research consortia rather than small bilateral collaborations. Their network likely spans German and European automotive Tier 1 suppliers, aerospace integrators, and battery research institutes.

What sets them apart

CustomCells occupies a rare position in EU research consortia: an industrial cell manufacturer that can actually fabricate the battery formats a project demands, not merely model or test them. Most battery research projects struggle to find partners who can move from chemistry concept to physical cell at pilot scale — this is precisely what CustomCells contributes. Their combination of conventional EV cell expertise (LNMO/xEV) and willingness to tackle structurally integrated and semi-solid-state formats makes them a credible partner for both near-market and exploratory transport battery research.

Highlights from their portfolio

• 3beLiEVe
  The largest-budget project (EUR 384,745) directly targeting commercial readiness — delivering generation 3b LNMO cells for the xEV market by 2025, making it the most industry-proximate work in their H2020 portfolio.
• SOLIFLY
  Technically the more ambitious project: semi-solid-state Li-ion batteries embedded as structural elements within carbon fibre composite panels for aviation, merging battery chemistry with aerospace materials engineering.