Vanevo and the EIC Accelerator: Flow Battery Stacks, One at a Time

30 September 2026887 words5 min

Vanevo, based in Oldenburg, makes stacks and modules for redox flow batteries, large liquid-based batteries that store wind and solar power for hours. Its patented process glues the stack together in one step, using one seal where conventional designs use 160, which the company says makes it cheaper and simpler. With the EIC it "intends to automate the stack and module production", according to CORDIS.

The European Innovation Council granted €1,680,875 towards a €2.43 million project from February 2023 to April 2025. The final report says a cost-optimised module for different electrolytes was developed and tested, with a self-learning battery management system, and that "an optimised and automated production process is developed". It gives no production volumes, costs or test results. Vanevo's news page reports a 10 kW / 40 kWh module sold to a Dutch system integrator in September 2024 and a third "Power Tower" shipped to the flow battery maker H2OVOLT. In August 2025 it raised about €1.8 million to expand sales and build a pilot plant.

€1.68MEIC grant, 69% of a €2.43M project
1 vs 160Seals per stack, Vanevo versus conventional
€1.8MFunding round, August 2025
Pilot plantStill planned after the project

Company file

Legal entity
VANEVO GmbH, HRB 213671 (Oldenburg)
Founder
Jan grosse Austing
Products
VANEVO stacks; VANEVO Power Tower modules
Investors
NBank Capital (since 2020), private investors
Named customers
H2OVOLT; an unnamed Dutch system integrator
EIC project
Clean(S)tack, 1 Feb 2023 to 30 Apr 2025
EIC funding
Grant first

Where Vanevo Stands Now

NBank Capital put in €400,000 of the 2025 round, and private investors the rest. The company's share capital rose in 2024 and twice in 2025, and a managing director left in January 2026, according to register publications shown by North Data. In December 2025 it received a German grant of €114,765 to integrate its stacks into other companies' systems. H2OVOLT uses its Power Towers, made of stacks, sensors, battery management and pumps, to build complete batteries for smaller companies.

The record

Glued flow battery stacks reach their first customers

Vanevo's EIC project built a standard redox flow module and an automated production process. Its announced sales since are single units: modules and three Power Towers.

  1. Jan 2021Renamed VANEVO GmbHOldenburg register
  2. Jun 2022EIC Accelerator cut-offAutomated production of flow battery stacksgrant first
  3. Feb 2023EIC project starts€2.43M project€1.68M grant
  4. Jan 2024Capital increaseFirst customer deliveries planned
  5. Sep 2024Module sold10 kW / 40 kWh to a Dutch system integrator
  6. Apr 2025EIC project endsModule and production process developed
  7. Aug 2025Funding roundNBank Capital and private investors€1.8M
  8. UndatedThird Power TowerDelivered to H2OVOLT

CORDIS, Vanevo, VC Magazin and North Data.

"Industrial companies and operators of large PV and wind parks increasingly recognise that stationary energy storage with high, scalable capacity is indispensable."

Jan grosse Austing, founder, Vanevo, August 2025 (translated)

The Technology: One Glued Seal

In a redox flow battery, energy is stored in liquid electrolytes pumped through stacks of cells, which must be sealed against leaks. Vanevo replaces screws and seals with an adhesive that closes the stack in one step. The report says the module works with vanadium and organic electrolytes and that further cost cuts depend on cheaper electrolytes and larger production volumes.

The technology

Seals per stack: conventional versus Vanevo

Vanevo glues its stack in one step instead of fitting many separate seals, according to its January 2024 announcement.

Vanevo news, January 2024.

What the EIC Project Promised, and What CORDIS Shows

The EIC project

The EU paid 69% of a €2.4M project

Clean(S)tack ran from February 2023 to April 2025. CORDIS still lists it as signed.

CORDIS project 190155898. Values in € millions.

The project promised an automated production process for stacks and modules. The report says the module and process were developed but gives no evidence of automated production running at any scale, and the 2025 financing is for a pilot plant still to be built. CORDIS still lists the project as signed.

  1. Standard moduleDeliveredDeveloped and tested.
  2. Self-learning BMSDeliveredPer final report.
  3. Automated productionDevelopedPilot plant still planned.
  4. Commercial salesFirst unitsModules, Power Towers.

The Money

Vanevo's published accounts are balance sheets, which North Data shows only to paying users, so its revenue is not public. Besides the EIC grant, the registers list €437,600 in regional economic aid in 2024 and €385,000 of EU project money through Centre for Process Innovation Ltd. for a digital twin of battery cell assembly. The EIC Fund has not been named as an investor.

The money

Money recorded for Vanevo

In € thousands. Grants and state aid as listed by North Data from public registers; the 2025 round from VC Magazin, of which NBank Capital put in €400,000.

CORDIS; North Data; VC Magazin, August 2025.

What Cannot Be Checked

Questions for the EIC

How many stacks Vanevo has produced and sold, what the automated process costs per stack, and whether an EIC Fund investment was offered are not public.

Why Europe Should Care

The project argues that flow batteries offer the lowest cost per storage cycle but are held back by high upfront costs. Vanevo's approach targets the cost of making the stacks. The EIC funded the development; the evidence at scale is still to come.

What the project promised

Automated production of low-cost redox flow battery stacks and modules.

What the record shows

A developed module and process, single-unit sales, and a pilot plant funded in 2025 but not yet built.

The Verdict

Working product, small scale

Vanevo reports delivering the development the EIC paid for and says it is selling its first units. Automated volume production, the core of the project, has not yet been shown.

Vanevo 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

EnergyEnergy storage

Focus
  • Flow batteries
Technologies
  • Adhesives
Keywords
  • Redox flow batteries
  • Long-duration storage
  • Stack manufacturing
  • Vanadium
  • Adhesive bonding