Additive Drives, a German manufacturer of high-performance electric motors produced using additive manufacturing, has secured a significant minority investment from Nordic Alpha Partners. The deal, valued in the mid double-digit million-euro range, is intended to support the company’s next phase of growth as demand rises for more efficient electrification across industrial and emerging technology markets.
Existing backer AM Ventures, which has supported Additive Drives since its seed stage, is also committing fresh capital alongside the transaction. Additive Drives said the partnership provides additional resources and operational support to accelerate scaling, expand internationally, and advance its mission to reduce global energy consumption through next-generation motor technology.
Additive Drives develops electric motors designed to deliver a leading thrust-to-weight ratio, strong efficiency per euro invested, and operation without rare earth materials. The company positions this rare-earth-free approach as both a performance advantage and a supply-chain resilience benefit, reducing exposure to geopolitically constrained inputs while supporting Europe’s broader electrification and industrial sovereignty goals.
The company highlighted its manufacturing process as a key differentiator, noting that it can produce prototypes within 21 days to shorten development cycles and reduce customer downtime. Additive Drives also said it has been profitable since its inception and is considered bankable by several European financial institutions, suggesting it has combined technical progress with early financial traction. The firm added that it was recently ranked seventh in a Süddeutsche Zeitung assessment of more than 8,000 founded companies.
The partners framed motor efficiency as a major lever in the energy transition. Additive Drives pointed to estimates that electric motors and the systems they drive account for roughly 53% of global electricity consumption, arguing that even incremental efficiency gains can create meaningful system-wide impact. The company said its motors can achieve up to 98% efficiency in industrial applications and reduce energy losses by up to 70%, placing performance beyond current IE5 benchmarks and effectively beyond IE7 levels. For industrial buyers, Additive Drives said this translates into measurable energy savings, lower total operating costs, and improved sustainability outcomes, particularly in energy-intensive deployments.
Beyond traditional industrial settings, Additive Drives said its high thrust-to-weight ratio and compact design can enable new use cases in aerospace and advanced robotics. The company also described immediate applicability in high-growth, energy-intensive segments, including AI data centers, quantum computing, electromobility, and robotics, positioning the investment as a strategic step toward scaling production and deepening market penetration across Europe and globally.
KEY QUOTES
“It is truly rare to see a founder team build something so pioneering and at the same time at have such a strong financial performance less than five years after inception. It requires them to make great decisions consistently, and that’s what they’ve done.”
Nikolaj Magne Larsen, Partner, Nordic Alpha Partners
“We wanted to work with Nordic Alpha Partners because they have a unique toolkit for industrial scaling and navigating industrial transformations. We have been cash-positive from early on and we were looking for an operational partner that could really enable us to tap into hypergrowth and expand globally even faster.”
Philipp Arnold, CFO, Additive Drives
“Additive Drives is a great example of the fact that Europe is still leading the game when it comes to higly advanced industrial technologies. They are already accelerating global electrification and I’m sure we will see entirely new product categories emerge as a result.”
Laurits Bach Sørensen, Co-Founder & Senior Partner, Nordic Alpha Partners
“Additive Drives is a prime example of the innovative power of the German Mittelstand. We are proud to have supported the team from day one, building a technology leader in e-mobility. By introducing our trusted co-investor Nordic Alpha Partners, we are helping accelerate the next growth phase on the path to create a European champion for a more sustainable future.”
Arno Held, Managing Partner, AM Ventures
