Estonian DeepTech firm PowerUP Energy Technologies has secured two European Defence Fund grants worth over €15M.
Estonia keeps innovating when it comes to new energy and dual-use applications. Tallinn-based PowerUP Energy Technologies has been awarded two separate grants from the European Defence Fund (EDF) — the EU’s main instrument for co-funding defence research and development — totalling over €15.6M across two three-year projects.
The are yet another win for a company that has been quietly building one of Estonia’s most compelling DeepTech stories. Founded in 2016 by Dr Ivar Kruusenberg, PowerUP develops hydrogen fuel cell generators that convert hydrogen into electricity through electrochemical reactions, producing power with no carbon emissions, heat, or noise. The systems are modular and portable — designed for situations where conventional fuel logistics are impractical or simply impossible.
Early backing came from the Estonian Ministry of Defence, which co-funded the development of hydrogen power generators for military applications. PowerUP later secured a contract with the European Space Agency to develop fuel cell technology for lunar and Mars missions. More recently, its generators have seen real-world deployment in Ukraine. Last November, the company closed a €10M Series A round led by defence-aligned investors Mercaton and ScaleWolf, with participation from SmartCap’s EU-backed Green Fund.
PowerUP’s new challenges
The two new EDF-backed projects push the technology further. Under Project SOLARES, PowerUP is part of a consortium developing a fully autonomous, water-based hydrogen ecosystem intended to provide battlefield energy for soldiers — using water to create a self-sustaining power loop that removes the need for traditional fuel supply chains.
The second project, DEEP-TECH, targets an even more demanding environment: the deep sea. PowerUP’s fuel cells are to serve as the energy backbone for autonomous underwater systems and next-generation deep-sea operations, enabling persistent function in extreme conditions. Consortium partners across the two projects include France’s CEA (Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives), Thales Italia, SINTEF, Exail, and the Portuguese Navy, among others.
The EDF grants arrive alongside a commercial expansion on the civilian side. In March, PowerUP signed a distribution agreement with Swedish firm Greener InfoTech Systems AB, which will serve as the official reseller of PowerUP’s hydrogen energy solutions across Sweden, Denmark, and Norway — a region widely regarded as a frontrunner in the transition to a hydrogen economy.
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