As the world races to electrify transport and secure sustainable energy storage, Basquevolt, based in the Basque Country, is emerging as a pivotal player. The company is developing next-generation solid-state lithium batteries – safer, more efficient, and designed for the future of electric mobility, grid storage, and advanced portable devices. Basquevolt is a member of EIC Scaling Club’s Batteries & Energy Storage market group.

By focusing on a breakthrough solid polymer composite electrolyte, Basquevolt offers not just an incremental upgrade to existing lithium-ion technology but a leap forward. Its goal? To power Europe’s clean energy ambitions while becoming a gigafactory leader in solid-state cell production by 2027.

Born from world-class research

Basquevolt’s story begins with science. The company was born out of CIC energiGUNE, one of Europe’s leading research centers for energy storage. With over a decade of solid-state research under its belt, CIC energiGUNE provided not just the foundation but the spark – most notably through the work of Prof. Michel Armand, widely recognized as the father of polymeric solid electrolytes.

After years of cutting-edge lab work, the time was right to scale. In 2022, Basquevolt was officially launched – backed by a powerful public-private consortium led by the Basque Government, and including Iberdrola, CIE Automotive, Enagás, EIT InnoEnergy, and CIC energiGUNE itself.

Pablo Fernández-Santos, who was Basquevolt’s CTO when the company was founded, has now taken over as CEO. With a strong background in the automotive industry and a deep technological knowledge, he brings a vision focused on the industrial application of technology and its integration into the value chain of the automotive, small mobility, aeronautics, and stationary storage sectors, amongst others. 

From vision to reality

The ambition is clear: establish a European gigafactory capable of delivering 10GWh of battery capacity by 2027, with a pilot line launching in 2025. That vision is backed by €700 million in planned investment and will create over 800 direct jobs in the Álava Technology Park, just meters from CIC energiGUNE’s labs. This will enable continuous collaboration between R&D and production.

This proximity is strategic. Basquevolt’s core technology builds on patented composite electrolytes, a solution to the key challenge of solid-state batteries: balancing safety, energy density, and cost. The result is a battery with up to 450 Wh/kg energy density, lower manufacturing costs, and enhanced safety – a crucial factor in scaling electric vehicles and renewable storage at mass market levels.

Already, Basquevolt has begun delivering prototype cells to automotive and aerospace clients, a clear signal that this is not just a lab experiment but a commercially viable innovation.

European backing and the EIC Scaling Club

Basquevolt’s emergence is tightly aligned with the European Battery Alliance and the EU’s Battery Strategy, championed by Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič. Europe is intent on reducing its reliance on imported technologies, and Basquevolt is a prime example of homegrown innovation with the potential to scale globally.

In October 2024, Basquevolt joined the EIC Scaling Club, gaining access to strategic investors, expert mentoring, and policy visibility, accelerating Basquevolt’s journey from pilot production to full-scale impact.

As part of the club, Basquevolt gains a seat at the table with other leading innovators in climate tech, semiconductors, and energy, reflecting its role in shaping the continent’s green transition.

A battery company with a mission

Basquevolt isn’t just building batteries – it’s building momentum for Europe’s energy independence. With world-class science, strong industrial partners, and a clear production roadmap, the company is positioned to lead the shift toward a safer, more sustainable electrified future. As Francisco Carranza, the co-founder and former CEO of Basquevolt, put it:

“We are not here to incrementally improve today’s batteries. We are here to redefine what batteries can be.”

If Basquevolt succeeds – and all signs suggest it might – it won’t just mark a win for regional innovation, but for Europe’s energy resilience at large.

About the EIC Scaling Club

The EIC Scaling Club is a curated community where 120+ European deep tech scale-ups with the potential to build world-class businesses and solve major global challenges come together with investors, corporate innovators and other industry stakeholders to spur growth.

The top 120+ European deep tech companies will be carefully selected from a pool of high-growth scale-ups that have benefitted from EIC financial schemes, other European and national innovation programmes, and beyond.

The EIC Scaling Club is an EIC-funded initiative run in partnership by Tech Tour, Bpifrance (EuroQuity), Hello Tomorrow, Tech.eu (Webrazzi), EurA and IESE Business School.

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