Minerva Carbon wins €1.8M EXIST research funding

Minerva Carbon has secured around €1.8 million in funding through the EXIST Transfer of Research I programme to commercialize mesoporous high-performance carbon materials.

• Funding & purpose: €1.8 million granted via the EXIST Transfer of Research I programme (initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy) to scale and commercialize mesoporous high-performance carbon materials for batteries and PEM fuel cells; a pilot plant is being built at the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung in Mülheim (North Rhine-Westphalia).
• Technical background & team: Project initiated by Dr. Abdu Bilican (former PhD student, MPI Kohlenforschung) who developed a faster, more efficient synthesis process for mesoporous carbon during his doctoral research; initial tests report improved fast-charging capability in batteries and long-term stability of PEM fuel cells. Co-founder Jonas Gram (formerly at Fraunhofer) highlights local production ambitions and integration into a European battery value chain. Article date: 26 August 2025.