PowerUP Energy Technologies, our Club member from the Clean Fuels & Hydrogen market group, has raised €10 million in Series A funding. The Estonian scale-up will use these funds to accelerate the manufacturing and global deployment of its hydrogen-powered electric generators.

The round was co-led by dual-use investors Mercaton and ScaleWolf, with participation from SmartCap Green Fund, financed through the European Union’s NextGenerationEU initiative.

PowerUP’s technology is built for environments where failure is not an option. Designed to perform in extreme operational conditions, its generators have already demonstrated reliability in demanding defence settings and in critical commercial applications such as security infrastructure and telecommunications.

Dual-use energy for critical operations

At the core of the company’s strategy is a dual-use mission: offering robust, clean, and reliable energy solutions that serve both defence needs and high-stakes civilian operations. PowerUP’s systems have been deployed and validated in conflict-impacted regions, including Ukraine – evidence of their resilience and operational maturity.

Founder and CEO Ivar Kruusenberg emphasised this track record:

"PowerUP was founded on a clear mission: to deliver clean, reliable energy solutions. While other technologies are still being tested in labs, ours has already been battle-tested on the front lines in Ukraine. This is the very definition of dual-use innovation: a cleantech solution that has been forged and validated by the urgent needs of defense. This capital will directly allow us to expand our network of resellers, distributors and partners in defense and in the commercial sector.”

Scaling production and global reach

The newly secured funding will support PowerUP’s growth across three strategic areas:

• Commercial expansion: Building dedicated sales and technical teams to enter new markets and support critical infrastructure operators seeking dependable backup power.

• International footprint: Establishing regional sales and support hubs in priority regions, including Central Europe and North America.

• R&D: Accelerating next-generation fuel cell development, focusing on higher-density models designed for varied power requirements.

Dave Harden, Partner at ScaleWolf, commented:

“PowerUP has shown that its systems can deliver dependable power in demanding environments, supporting both defence missions and essential civilian operations. We are proud to back a team that turns proven performance into meaningful dual-use capability.”

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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