Europe could preserve a valuable slice of the global battery market by specialising in nanotechnology for battery components, but that strategy depends on long, costly development and fierce competition from China. Start-ups in the Netherlands and elsewhere are pushing atomic-scale techniques that promise large performance gains, yet commercial rollout remains years away.
Researchers and investors point to work at the scale of a nanometre, a unit equal to one-billionth of a metre, as where some of the most consequential improvements are being made. LeydenJar, founded and based in Eindhoven, uses plasma deposition to build ultra-thin pure silicon anodes, a design that company chief executive Christian Rood says resists the cracking that normally blights silicon electrodes. LeydenJar claims the approach can boost energy density, charging speed and battery life, by as much as 50 percent.
Commercial-scale production at LeydenJar is scheduled to start at the end of 2026, after a decade of development. Rood compares his firm’s role to that of ASML in semiconductors, arguing the crossover with chip-making processes gives European firms a competitive advantage when moving from lab proofs to industrial-scale manufacturing. "If you can make this work, it touches so many industries, but it's a risky business," he says.
Other Dutch ventures pursue related paths. Powall, based in Delft, is commercialising equipment for nanocoating the powder ingredients used in today’s batteries. The firm applies atomic layer deposition to coat individual powder granules, changing surface properties at nanometre thicknesses to slow degradation and enable novel high-capacity or fast-charging materials to perform reliably over time, according to Powall chief executive Roderik Colen.
Neither LeydenJar nor Powall builds complete cells, and both already have commercial links with Asian customers. Their business models reflect a strategic bet for Europe: specialise in advanced, IP-rich steps of the supply chain where margins and patent protection can compensate for smaller scale. That approach also acknowledges recent setbacks in Europe’s cell ambitions, after Sweden’s Northvolt and Norway’s Morrow filed for bankruptcy.
The immediate picture leaves open risks and limits. Development cycles measured in years mean large capital and patience are required before revenues arrive, and Chinese firms continue to dominate mass production. For now, Europe’s best path may be to deepen capabilities in semiconductor-style manufacturing and materials engineering, then use those niches to gain leverage in the broader battery industry.
What happens next is clear: firms such as LeydenJar will move toward commercial output in 2026, and the success of that and similar ventures will determine whether Europe secures a technology-rich segment of the supply chain or cedes more ground to lower-cost cell makers abroad.
