Voltstorage is shutting down after raising €66m for iron salt battery tech

Update (Thursday 28 August: 11:57 CET): This article was updated to include key information from a new source.

German battery startup Voltstorage is shutting down, almost a decade since it launched with big plans to commercialise its iron salt batteries.

The company hasn't run out of money, but has decided to wind down operations to cover "company obligations" and avoid bankruptcy, a source at the company tells Impact Loop.

New leadership

Voltstorage was founded in 2016 by Jakob Bitner, Michael Peither, and Felix Kiefl. In recent months, Bitner and Peither have left the company. Kiefl already departed in 2022.

In September 2024, Volker Schulte was appointed as president and CEO, with Randall Selesky later appointed as president and CCO. Matthias Kosch joined as CFO in December.

According to the source, the new leadership team was bought in to get the company back on track as it prepared to raise a new round of funding.

Already insolvent

Voltstorage entered insolvency in July, according to public records seen by Impact Loop.

Nevertheless, there was "a lot of optimism" that the new team would be able to secure new funding by the end of August, the source said.

Voltstorage had secured letters of intent from buyers equal to more than €1 billion, they added.

The Munich-based company has raised a total of €66m, including a €30m loan from the European Investment Bank. Other investors include Bayern Kapital, Korys, and American power company Cummins.

It currently employs 66 people, according to figures from Dealroom.

'Many headwinds'

John Alper, Voltstorage's principal technologist, says the business faced "many headwinds."

"The failure of Northvolt and other battery companies has made investors wary," Alper tells Impact Loop. "The price of lithium-ion has continued to come down as well, making it harder to compete."

The news comes amid reckoning in Europe's battery sector typified by Northvolt's bankruptcy in March.

Britishvolt went belly-up in 2023 after failing to secure fresh funds for its plant in the UK, while Swedish startup Enerpoly went into administration last month.