Floatech, Madrid-based high-performance battery anode start-up, secures €2.5 million in European funding

  • In a milestone for the Community of Madrid, the European Innovation Council selected Floatech to receive the funding as part of its Accelerator programme.
  • IMDEA Materials Institute’s first spin-off, Floatech opened its first silicon anode manufacturing facility in 2025 and plans to establish a megafactory in 2029.

Floatech, spin-off of IMDEA Materials Institute, will receive €2.5 million in new funding after being selected for the European Innovation Council’s (EIC) Accelerator programme.

The EIC Accelerator programme, which this year has distributed more than €450 million among 61 European start-ups and SMEs, is one of Europe’s most competitive instruments for supporting disruptive technologies with commercial potential.

For IMDEA Materials, this recognition serves as validation of its technology transfer strategy, highlighting the institute’s ability to transform fundamental science into industrial solutions.

“The success of Floatech in the EIC Accelerator demonstrates that the cutting-edge research carried out at IMDEA Materials not only generates top-level scientific knowledge, but can also be transformed into industrial technologies with disruptive potential,” said Miguel Ángel Rodiel, Director of Projects and Technology at IMDEA Materials.

“It also shows that the IMDEA Institutes, through the support of the Community of Madrid, and the IMDEA Institutes, are able to generate deep-tech technology with global impact.”

Floatech’s patented Floating Catalyst Chemical Vapour Deposition (FCCVD) technology, and its product Si⋮Coil, a 100% silicon anode that replaces current graphite anodes, are now entering an accelerated industrialisation phase.

This technology originates from results obtained in a European Research Council (ERC) project carried out at IMDEA Materials by Drs. Juan José Vilatela and Richard Schäufele.

Since then, it has evolved into a viable industrial proposition through a structured technology maturation process.

The company plans to launch an advanced manufacturing megafactory in 2029 to supply the electronics sector and begin collaboration with automotive manufacturers, with the aim of supplying electric vehicle gigafactories from 2030 onwards.

The company’s selection in this programme also opens the door to investment of up to €10 million from the EIC and public investors. This new funding would add to the previous seed round raised by the company from venture capital funds (Grow Venture Partners, Big Sur Ventures, Suma Capital, Banco Sabadell). This has been accompanied by support from the co-investment programme INNVIERTE of the Centre for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI) of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.

The technology developed by Floatech will enable Europe to replace critical materials such as graphite with alternatives that can be sourced within Europe, thereby reducing external technological dependencies and strengthening European industrial value chains.

“We are talking about frontier research that translates into highly skilled employment, attraction of national and international investment and technological solutions aligned with major European challenges,” Rodiel added.

“Furthermore, Floatech’s success represents a milestone in IMDEA Materials’ technology transfer strategy and acts as a catalyst to strengthen our programme for incubating entrepreneurial ideas and accelerating start-ups,” he concluded.