Norrköping-based Westra Materials, formerly known as n-Ink, has been awarded €6.5 million in blended funding from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator under the Horizon Europe programme — one of the most competitive deep tech funding mechanisms in the world.
The package combines a €2.5 million grant with €4 million in equity financing, and will be used to accelerate the industrial scale-up and commercialisation of Westra’s conductive polymer platform for batteries and capacitors.
The problem with today’s battery chemistry
Modern lithium-ion batteries rely on a combination of separate binders and conductive additives to hold electrode materials together and carry charge. Many of those binders — including widely used PVDF — fall into the category of PFAS, so-called “forever chemicals” that are increasingly under regulatory scrutiny across Europe due to their environmental and health risks.
Westra’s answer is a proprietary conductive binder that does both jobs at once: it binds and conducts in a single material, eliminating the need for separate conductive additives altogether. The company claims it is the first scalable solution of its kind, with applications across lithium-ion batteries and high-efficiency capacitors.
The awarded EIC project carries the name ODIN — Organic Durable INnovations for batteries and electronics — a fitting name for a Swedish company positioning itself at the frontier of Europe’s energy storage supply chain.
Industrial scale-up and Tier-2 ambitions
With the EIC funding secured, Westra will focus on three priorities: expanding production capacity, advancing qualification processes with leading battery and electronics manufacturers, and establishing itself as a Tier-2 material supplier within Europe’s fast-growing energy storage ecosystem.
The timing is significant. European battery gigafactories are under mounting pressure to reduce their PFAS exposure ahead of tightening EU chemical regulations, and the race to build a competitive, sovereign battery supply chain has made material-level innovations like Westra’s increasingly attractive to both manufacturers and investors.
Daniel Westling, CEO of Westra Materials, said the funding validates what the team has been building toward. “This funding validates the disruptive potential of our conductive polymer platform and enables us to accelerate industrial scale-up at a critical moment for Europe’s battery and electronics industries. With this project, we are building the foundation for a cleaner, more competitive European energy storage value chain.”
Tomasz Wąsik, CEO of GAEU Consulting Horizon Europe Centre of Excellence, which supported Westra through the application process, described the company as a textbook case for EIC support: “High-risk, high-impact technology with strong commercial scalability and strategic relevance for Europe.”
From Norrköping to European deep tech champion
Westra Materials — rebranded from n-Ink — is now among a select group of European startups backed by the EIC Accelerator, a programme specifically designed for breakthrough innovations capable of creating new markets or fundamentally reshaping existing ones. The company joins peers across the continent in what the EIC describes as a cohort of “European deep tech champions.”
For Sweden’s industrial heartland around Norrköping, Westra’s milestone adds another data point to a quietly growing cluster of advanced materials and electronics companies finding their footing on the European stage.
Fast facts:
- Stage: EIC Accelerator (Horizon Europe)
- Amount raised: €6.5M total (€2.5M grant + €4M equity)
- HQ: Norrköping, Sweden
- Previously known as: n-Ink
- Project name: ODIN – Organic Durable INnovations for batteries and electronics
