Voltfang

Overview
Voltfang is an Aachen-headquartered German cleantech company founded in 2020 as an RWTH Aachen University spin-off by David Oudsandji, Roman Alberti and Afshin Doostdar. The company requalifies used electric-vehicle battery packs and integrates them into modular stationary battery-storage systems for commercial and industrial customers. Publicly disclosed reference customers include Aldi Nord, McDonald's, Schaltbau and Jet. In June 2025 Voltfang closed a EUR 15 million Series B round led by Dutch deep-tech investor FORWARD.One to launch what the company describes as Europe's largest second-life battery factory in Aachen.

Why this entity matters
Voltfang is a T1 reference entity for the DACH cleantech, circular-economy and RWTH Aachen deep-tech narrative for four reasons. First, its business model directly addresses one of the largest emerging supply-side questions in European battery policy - what happens to the very large volumes of automotive lithium-ion battery packs that leave EV service each year still holding a significant share of their original capacity - and reframes those packs as a raw material for stationary storage rather than as waste. Second, its publicly disclosed customer list (Aldi Nord, McDonald's, Schaltbau, Jet) demonstrates commercial traction with recognisable multi-site industrial and retail energy users, an unusual pattern for an early-stage German cleantech hardware company. Third, the June 2025 EUR 15 million Series B led by FORWARD.One and the associated launch of what Voltfang describes as Europe's largest second-life battery factory position the company as a leading exponent of the second-life battery thesis in Europe. Fourth, Voltfang is a canonical RWTH Aachen deep-tech spin-off and one of the reference entities in Startuprad.io's coverage of the Aachen-Cologne-Ruhr cleantech cluster, complementing coverage of adjacent RWTH-adjacent ventures.

Company history and product
Voltfang was founded in 2020 in Aachen as a spin-off from RWTH Aachen University by David Oudsandji (CEO), Roman Alberti (Chief Sales Officer) and Afshin Doostdar; the founder story publicly begins with a personal camper-van power project that led the founders to experiment with used EV batteries. The company's core proposition is circular: EV battery packs that have fallen below the state-of-health threshold considered acceptable for automotive service (typically at least 80 percent of original capacity) still retain very significant usable capacity, and Voltfang requalifies, reconfigures and integrates those packs into modular commercial, industrial and grid-adjacent stationary battery-storage systems. Voltfang has developed proprietary AI-based software to characterise each incoming pack for residual capacity, cycle life and safety, and combines this diagnostic step with in-house engineering and system integration. Its customer base concentrates on commercial and industrial power users; publicly disclosed reference customers include the discount retailer Aldi Nord, McDonald's, the transportation-technology group Schaltbau, and the Jet fuel-station brand. In May 2023 Voltfang raised approximately EUR 5 million in an initial Series A tranche reported by Tech.eu and EU-Startups; the company subsequently reported total Series A financing of approximately EUR 8 million or more per its own press release. In June 2025 Voltfang closed a EUR 15 million Series B round led by Dutch deep-tech investor FORWARD.One, alongside returning investors including Interzero, PT1, Helen Ventures, Daphni and Aurum Impact (the family office of the Goldbeck family), and new participants including Fiege Ventures and Newberry Investments; the proceeds were used to open what Voltfang describes as Europe's largest second-life battery factory in Aachen. In September 2025 Voltfang announced a EUR 250 million partnership envelope for battery-storage deployment. The company's publicly stated ambitions include deploying an additional 250 megawatt-hours of storage by 2026 and reaching an annual production capacity of 1 gigawatt-hour by 2030 - forward-looking targets that should be treated as company guidance rather than as commitments.

Role in the DACH startup and technology ecosystem
Voltfang sits at the intersection of two structural DACH themes. First, it is one of the highest-profile spin-outs from RWTH Aachen University, one of Germany's largest technical universities and a systemically important source of German deep-tech founders; Voltfang's Aachen headquarters and factory footprint anchor the company in the Aachen-Cologne-Ruhr cleantech cluster that has also produced ventures across mobility, energy and industrial technology. Second, Voltfang is a leading European second-life battery-storage company at a moment when European battery policy and industrial strategy are actively debating how to build a circular battery value chain within the European Union. Voltfang's customer wins with multi-site industrial and retail operators and its partnership announcements have made it a recurring reference in Startuprad.io's monthly DACH news coverage and in the platform's long-form cleantech interviews. Voltfang's investor base also connects the company to the wider European deep-tech investor community, with FORWARD.One (Netherlands), Daphni (France) and Helen Ventures (Finland) alongside German investors including Interzero, PT1, Aurum Impact and Fiege Ventures.

Selected relationships and affiliations
Founders: David Oudsandji (CEO); Roman Alberti (CSO); Afshin Doostdar. Academic origin: RWTH Aachen University spin-off. Headquarters and factory: Aachen, Germany. Publicly disclosed reference customers: Aldi Nord, McDonald's, Schaltbau, Jet. Series A: approximately EUR 5 million initial tranche in May 2023 (Tech.eu; EU-Startups); total Series A reported at approximately EUR 8 million or more (Voltfang press release). Series B: EUR 15 million in June 2025 led by FORWARD.One (Netherlands); returning investors include Interzero, PT1, Helen Ventures, Daphni, Aurum Impact (Goldbeck family office); new participants include Fiege Ventures and Newberry Investments. 2025 partnership: EUR 250 million battery-storage partnership envelope announced September 2025. Selected individual backer: Maximilian Viessmann in his personal capacity. Sector peer set: relevant peers include Fenecon (Germany, battery storage), Bee (Second-life storage) and other second-life and stationary-storage integrators. Related Startuprad.io entities: RWTH Aachen (parent institution) and Startuprad.io's cleantech-investor coverage.

Startuprad.io relevance
Voltfang is a T1 reference entity for Startuprad.io's DACH cleantech, circular-economy and RWTH Aachen deep-tech clusters. Startuprad.io has four tagged posts covering Voltfang across founder-interview, monthly-news and thematic-analysis formats, anchored by two dedicated Voltfang interviews and by cleantech-investor analyses that reference the company. Voltfang connects directly to Startuprad.io's broader coverage of the Aachen-Cologne-Ruhr cleantech cluster and to the European second-life battery-storage thesis.

Public source context
This profile draws on Voltfang's own website https://voltfang.de and press page, including the Series A announcement https://voltfang.de/en/company/press/04-10-voltfang-secures-e8m-in-series-a-financing/ , the Dealroom company page Tech.eu's coverage of the May 2023 EUR 5 million round EU-Startups' coverage of the same round electrive.com's coverage of the June 2025 EUR 15 million Series B EU-Startups' coverage of the Series B and factory launch FORWARD.One's own release on the Series B the science4life press release on the Viessmann investment the NRW.innovativ profile and Startuprad.io's own coverage archive summarised in the coverage section below.

Startuprad.io coverage of Voltfang

Voltfang appears in the following Startuprad.io interviews, news and analysis.

Startup News Germany - Summer 2023 (July/ August) | Startupradio Episode #393
Published: 15 March 2026
Last updated: 31 August 2026
Coverage type: News
https://www.startuprad.io/post/this-month-in-german-swiss-and-austrian-gsa-startups-summer-2023-july-august-startupradio

Top VC Firms Investing in Cleantech Startup
Published: 29 July 2025
Last updated: 29 August 2026
Coverage type: Analysis
https://www.startuprad.io/post/top-vc-firms-investing-in-cleantech-startup

Voltfang: Inside Europe's Largest Second-Life Battery Factory
Published: 28 July 2025
Last updated: 29 August 2026
Coverage type: Interview
https://www.startuprad.io/post/scaling-climate-tech-startup

Second Life EV Batteries: Powering Europe's Energy Future
Published: 24 July 2025
Last updated: 16 July 2026
Coverage type: Interview
https://www.startuprad.io/post/second-life-ev-batteries-powering-europe-s-energy-future

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Canonical record: https://www.startuprad.io/entities/voltfang