Skellium is a German technology start-up that develops production processes for scalable coatings of lithium-metal anodes. The company is a spin-off from the chair Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components (PEM) at RWTH Aachen University and was founded by Gerrit Bockey, JOnAS Gorsch, Junia Dietert and Hendrik Minis Pai. Skellium is supported by The Two-year EXIST-Gründungstransfer programme, which supports young technology-oriented companies.

History

Skellium emerged from research work that was carried out from 2024 at the PEM chair at RWTH Aachen. The founding team initially worked under the project name LIMA ("Lithium Metal Anode"), which was documented within the institute's research reporting.

Independent media reports early described the team's technological progress, notably in the area of scalable, ultrathin lithium-metal coatings. In 2025 both Battery-News and Electrive.net reported on the underlying production processes and their possible significance for industrial battery manufacturing.

After completion of the LIMA research phase, the project was converted into an independent start-up in 2025 and was named Skellium.

Technology

Skellium develops manufacturing processes for the production of ultrathin, homogeneous lithium-metal anodes. These coating processes are intended to increase the energy density of future battery systems while enabling more precise and scalable industrial manufacturing. The technical approaches have been described in media reports and in institute publications from the PEM chair.

Business model

Skellium will produce Lithium-metal anodes as a tier 2 supplier and sell them to cell manufacturers and R&D centers. The company's business model is based on continuous technology development and cooperation with industrial companies in the battery and manufacturing sectors. In the long term, Skellium aims to integrate its coating processes into existing production lines for lithium-metal batteries.

Awards and recognition

Skellium and its founding team have been recognized within the RWTH Aachen innovation ecosystem:

  • Winner of the Fast-Forward Award of the RWTH Ideation Program.
  • Winner of the CHIO-Tec Investment Prize 2025 for technological innovations in lithium-metal anodes.
  • Participation in the RWTH Incubation Programme (Fall Batch 2025).

Media appearances

Members of the Skellium team appeared as guests on the engineering podcast Geladen, where technological challenges and potentials of lithium-metal batteries were discussed.