Finnish spinoff company raises €2 million in seed funding for battery quality control technology

Tampere-based CeLLife Technologies has revolutionized battery cell quality control with its groundbreaking technology, securing €2 million in seed funding led by pan-European VC firm Ventech. CeLLife Technologies specializes in revolutionary battery quality control technology, enabling manufacturers to assess battery cell quality in seconds, significantly reducing waste and improving efficiency. The funding will support CeLLife’s expansion into the Swedish and German markets, as well as further development of its cloud-based SaaS model. With investors like Ventech on board, CeLLife is poised to lead the way in sustainable battery production.

CeLLife Technologies Oy, a spin-off of the University of Tampere, Finland, has developed, after its 10 years of research, a groundbreaking proprietary technology that can measure the quality of battery cells in mere seconds, a process that previously took hours. This innovation significantly reduces scrap generated during the manufacture of new batteries and saves hundreds of millions of euros in the process.

Demand for batteries is growing rapidly, but production has critical global problems. Up to a third of the battery cells produced end up in the shredder as defective (aka “scrap”). Battery failures carry significant cost implications at every stage of production, dramatically affecting manufacturers’ financial reputation. A single faulty cell, costing just tens of euros, can cascade into severe degradation of an entire module or pack, escalating costs exponentially to tens of thousands.

CeLLife offers a pioneering service in the quality control of new batteries. Using a patented, cloud-connected measurement platform, CeLLife conducts batteries’ quality tests by analyzing more than 2000 data points within only 2 seconds. This technology not only enables manufacturers to produce batteries with increasingly consistent quality and extended life but also helps battery recycling companies better determine which cells to reuse more efficiently, reducing the amount of costly and often unnecessary battery waste.

The company’s advanced AI sifts through a database of millions of measurements, providing essential information on the type and chemistry of the battery being assessed. This system guides manufacturers in replacing cells in poor condition, ensuring the production of high-quality batteries.

CeLLife Technologies Oy, founded in Tampere in August 2022, has already achieved impressive growth with notable clients. This year, growth will be pursued in the domestic market as well as in Sweden and Germany. The scalable business model enables rapid expansion with a cloud-based SaaS model. In addition to the battery and recycling sectors, cooperation has been initiated with leading electric vehicle manufacturers.

CeLLife’s Founder and CEO, Roni Luhtala, believes that the European battery cell manufacturing and recycling industry will gain a significant competitive advantage by adopting CeLLife’s technology. “With the new resources, we will be able to better serve our current and new customers and significantly help reduce manufacturing waste (“scrap”) in the battery industry.”

This seed funding round ignited €2 million in support for CeLLife’s development and attracted solid investors from across the continent, including notably the anchor investor Ventech. CeLLife’s original investors, Grid.VC, and angel investors also increased their funding. “I am pleased to announce that the company has secured a new, capable funding partner to support its growth. This significant milestone enables a new phase of growth and the achievement of our strategic objectives. This is a great step forward,” says Marko Tulonen, Chairperson and Founder.

Tero Mennander, General Partner at Ventech, who leads Ventech’s investment activities in the Nordics, says: “CeLLife addresses a major issue in the sustainability and efficiency of EV batteries, which has become a more and more critical issue as the EV market grows rapidly across the world. The cutting-edge technology of CeLLife combined with the impressive development of the startup in its domestic market is already prompting Roni, Marko, and their team to consider international expansion. We are proud to partner with these visionary founders and support them in this ambition with our presence in France,the DACH region and the Nordics”.

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