FUELIUM SL

Their core work

FUELIUM develops printed and paper-based primary batteries — ultra-thin, low-cost electrochemical cells produced through printing processes rather than conventional battery assembly. Their core application focus is powering devices where standard batteries are impractical: single-use disposable diagnostic tools and smart packaging with embedded IoT sensors. They combine electrochemical engineering with ecodesign principles, aiming to make energy storage that is printable, lightweight, and environmentally responsible. Based in the Bellaterra research hub near Barcelona (home to UAB campus), they operate as a technically specialized SME bridging printed electronics manufacturing and applied electrochemistry.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first H2020 project (2017–2018), FUELIUM worked entirely in the medical diagnostics space, developing paper-based batteries for disposable diagnostic devices — an application defined by extreme cost sensitivity and single-use constraints. By 2021–2023, they had redirected the same printed cell technology toward smart packaging and IoT-connected devices, adding ecodesign and sustainability as explicit design pillars alongside the electrochemistry core. The trajectory suggests they discovered a larger commercial opportunity in intelligent packaging while retaining and deepening their electrochemical manufacturing base, rather than abandoning their earlier niche.

FUELIUM is moving toward the convergence of printed electronics, IoT power supply, and sustainable packaging — a fast-growing space driven by connected supply chains and EU packaging regulation pressure.

How they like to work

FUELIUM has coordinated both of their H2020 grants rather than joining as a partner — an unusual posture for a company of this size. Their choice of funding instruments (SME Phase 1 feasibility study and MSCA Individual Fellowship) reflects a preference for small, focused arrangements: a solo feasibility study and a hosted researcher, not large multi-partner consortia. This suggests they work best as a technical lead in tight, specialized collaborations rather than as one node in a broad consortium.

CORDIS records show no unique consortium partners and no cross-country collaborations, which is consistent with both funding instruments used — SME Phase 1 and MSCA-IF are awarded to single beneficiaries or bilateral arrangements, not multi-partner consortia. Their actual industry and research network in the Barcelona/UAB ecosystem is likely broader than what EU project data captures.

What sets them apart

FUELIUM occupies a narrow but commercially relevant niche: printable primary batteries for applications where energy density matters less than thinness, low cost, and disposability. Very few SMEs combine hands-on printed electronics manufacturing with electrochemical cell design at this scale, and fewer still have validated it in both medical and packaging contexts. For consortia targeting intelligent packaging, single-use diagnostics, or ultra-thin IoT power, they bring a specialized manufacturing capability that large chemical companies rarely offer for such low-volume, application-specific needs.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SPRICE
  Their largest grant (€172,932) and most technically mature project, combining printed primary cell chemistry with smart packaging, IoT integration, and formal ecodesign — and uniquely funded through an MSCA Individual Fellowship, signaling recognized research quality.
• CLEANFUEL
  Their founding H2020 proof-of-concept (SME Phase 1), establishing the paper-based battery thesis for disposable diagnostic devices and setting the printed-cell trajectory that defines the company.