LightnTec and the EIC Accelerator: LED Wallpaper, Near Insolvency
LightnTec, based in Karlsruhe, makes ledTec.flex, ultra-thin LED foils that work as flexible video screens and dynamic lighting. Its 2022 EIC project promised a film that is "ultra-thin, malleable, flat, large in scale, applicable indoors and outdoors, and digital", for digital out-of-home advertising, medical lighting and ambient lighting in trains, planes, cars and buildings, according to CORDIS.
The European Innovation Council granted €1,703,625 towards a €2.43 million project from January 2023 to December 2024. On 16 November 2023, on the company's own application, the Karlsruhe local court appointed a provisional insolvency administrator (case 102 IN 1052/23), according to the published court notice reproduced by Diebewertung. The court lifted that appointment on 2 January 2024. The report says LightnTec introduced a significantly improved P8 foil, with 8 mm between pixels, completed a first P8 reference project in Düsseldorf and was finalising a sharper P5 version.
Company file
- Legal entity
- LightnTec GmbH, HRB 724466, Karlsruhe
- Products
- ledTec.flex LED foils (P16 banner, P8)
- Shareholders named
- BORN2GROW, zfhn Zukunftsfonds Heilbronn, D11Z. Ventures
- Insolvency case
- 102 IN 1052/23, Karlsruhe; provisional administration 16 Nov 2023 to 2 Jan 2024
- Public funding
- EIC SME Instrument grant (2019); €720,000 Covid-19 aid (2021); EIC grant (2023)
- Earlier EIC project
- Digital Wallpaper, EIC SME Instrument Phase 2 (Horizon 2020), 1 Nov 2019 to 30 Jun 2022, €2.20M grant
- EIC project
- 1 Jan 2023 to 31 Dec 2024, closed
- EIC funding
- Blended finance
Where LightnTec Stands Now
After the insolvency proceedings were halted, two of LightnTec's three managing directors left and a new one was appointed in January 2024, took in D11Z. Ventures as a shareholder in September 2024 and registered a capital increase in April 2026, register records on North Data show. It has kept filing patents, including several in 2025 and 2026, and filed a new LightnTec trademark in August 2026. Its website's news section has not been updated since 2022.
The record
LED video foil through a brush with insolvency
After a first EIC project from 2019 to 2022, LightnTec won a second award. Ten months into that project, LightnTec filed for insolvency and a provisional administrator was appointed. The appointment was lifted in January 2024, management changed and new investors joined.
- Jun 2019EIC SME Instrument cut-offDigital Wallpapergrant
- Nov 2019First EIC project starts€3.14M project€2.20M grant
- Sep 2021Covid-19 aidState aid€720,000
- Jun 2022First EIC project endsTelekom, Bahn, Burda and Dräger references
- Oct 2022EIC Accelerator cut-offLED-foil-displayblended finance
- Jan 2023Second EIC project starts€2.43M project€1.70M grant
- 16 Nov 2023Insolvency applicationProvisional administrator appointed
- 2 Jan 2024Administrator withdrawnCourt lifts the appointment
- Jan 2024Management changeTwo managing directors leave, one joins
- Sep 2024New shareholderD11Z. Ventures
- Dec 2024Second EIC project endsP8 launched, P5 in finalisation
European Commission, CORDIS, North Data and Diebewertung.
"With our high contrast and light guarding technology we can create image quality for DOOH displays at almost half power compared to state of the art technology!"
LightnTec, report to the EICThe Technology: LEDs on a Foil
LightnTec mounts LEDs and their control electronics on thin films that can be cut, curved and joined into large surfaces, so a building wall or a vehicle ceiling can show video. The report claims its displays need almost half the power of conventional LED screens for the same image quality. Earlier installations include a dynamic "T" logo on Deutsche Telekom's headquarters, according to the company's news page.
The products
Pixel pitch of LightnTec's LED foils
Distance between LED pixels in millimetres; smaller means sharper images. The P16 banner launched in 2022, the P8 during the EIC project, and the P5 was still being finalised at the report.
LightnTec news; CORDIS project 190138422, report.
What the EIC Project Promised, and What CORDIS Shows
The EIC project
The EU paid 70% of a €2.4M project
The LED-foil-display project ran from January 2023 to December 2024. CORDIS lists it as closed.
CORDIS project 190138422. Values in € millions.
LightnTec's first EIC grant came earlier. At the 5 June 2019 cut-off of the EIC SME Instrument Phase 2, part of the Horizon 2020 EIC pilot, the European Commission's list of selected companies named it "LnT", with the lightntec.com website, for Digital Wallpaper. The project ran from 1 November 2019 to 30 June 2022 with an EU contribution of €2,200,413.60 towards a total cost of €3,143,448, to bring a "wafer thin, flexible, lightweight and endless scalable LED screen" to market, and forecast "a turnover of 48M€, and an additional staff headcount of 85 employees in 2024". The final report lists reference installations for Deutsche Telekom, Deutsche Bahn, a 25 m² banner on the Frieder Burda Museum and medical ceilings for Dräger. LightnTec has not published turnover or staff figures showing the 2024 targets were met; North Data shows its revenue and staff only to paying customers.
The 2022 project promised high-resolution foils for advertising and transport. The report documents an improved P8 product in the market and a P5 beta demonstrator, with releases planned for 2024. It does not mention the insolvency proceedings. Whether the P5 was launched is not publicly documented. CORDIS lists the project as closed.
- LED foil in the market (2019)DeliveredTelekom, Bahn, Burda, Dräger.
- €48M turnover, 85 more staff by 2024Not shownFigures not published.
- Improved P8 foilDeliveredDüsseldorf reference.
- High-resolution P5 foilBetaBeing finalised.
- Transport marketsUnverifiedPlatform only.
- Financial stabilityShakenInsolvency filing, 2023.
The Money
LightnTec's accounts up to 2024 are filed in Germany but not publicly summarised with revenue. Why it filed for insolvency in November 2023 and how the case was resolved within seven weeks is not stated in public records. Whether the EIC Fund invested under the blended award has not been announced.
The IP
Patent filings recorded by year
Patent and utility model filings listed in German patent office data, as summarised by North Data.
North Data, LightnTec GmbH.
What Cannot Be Checked
Questions for the EIC
Whether the EIC knew of the insolvency application, whether payments were suspended, how the company was refinanced and whether the P5 foil reached customers are not public.
Why Europe Should Care
Lightweight, low-power displays could replace heavy LED panels in cities and vehicles. The EIC backed a European maker that nearly failed during the project. Its survival shows that insolvency filings can be reversed, and also how little the EIC's public record says when they happen.
What the project promised
Ultra-thin, scalable LED video foils for advertising, healthcare and transport.
What the record shows
An improved P8 foil, a P5 in beta, an insolvency filing lifted after seven weeks, and new investors.
The Verdict
Survived, results thin
LightnTec came through an insolvency filing mid-project and kept developing. What it delivered for the EIC beyond an improved product is only partly documented.
LightnTec and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.
Industry
Electronics and semiconductorsDisplays and lighting
- Focus
- LED displays
- Technologies
- LED technology
- Flexible electronics
- Keywords
- Digital signage
- Media facades
- Vehicle lighting
- Digital out-of-home