News, Press and Events
Ralph Petersen is the new Managing Director of CustomCells
Former Blohm+Voss boss becomes CEO at battery specialist
Defense sector is a central pillar for CustomCells
Focus on highly customized and extremely high-performance battery solutions
"Made in Germany" and China-independent supply chain as key differentiators
Itzehoe, July 29, 2026 – New Managing Director for the German battery pioneer: Experienced executive and former Blohm+Voss CEO Dr. Ralph Petersen will join CustomCells in August and will further strengthen the company's focus on the defense sector and highly customized battery solutions.
“With Ralph Petersen, we are gaining a CEO who combines industrial leadership experience, maritime expertise, and a deep understanding of defense applications. CustomCells develops customized high-performance battery cells for safety-critical applications in which performance, reliability, and sovereign supply chains are essential. Ralph Petersen is the right person to systematically drive CustomCells’ continued growth,” says Sven Rossmann, speaking on behalf of the Advisory Board and the shareholders.
Petersen served as Managing Director of Blohm+Voss from 2018 to 2025. He holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering from Helmut Schmidt University, the University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg, and brings many years of international management experience. His previous roles include CEO of Lufthansa Technik Turbine Shannon, as well as various management positions at Lufthansa Technik and A.T. Kearney. Earlier in his career, Petersen served for many years as a naval officer in the German Armed Forces. This combination gives him extensive industrial expertise and a first-hand understanding of maritime and safety-critical applications.
“CustomCells has an exceptional technological foundation and the expertise to develop and industrialize sophisticated battery cells in Germany. In defense and other safety-critical applications in particular, performance, availability, and sovereign supply chains are crucial. I look forward to working with the team to build a scalable business on these strengths,” says Ralph Petersen.
Petersen completes the three-member management team alongside COO and Co-Managing Director Dr. Jan Diekmann and CTO Andreas Löhrke, both of whom have held senior roles at CustomCells for several years.
He succeeds Benno Leuthner, who left the company at his own request in June 2026 after ten years with CustomCells to pursue new entrepreneurial and professional opportunities.
CustomCells: A Successful Restart –
and a Clear Focus on the Future
Successful restart for battery pioneer CustomCells
Focus on defence sector and motorsport
New customers and partners already won
"Made in Germany" and China-independent supply chain
Highly individual battery solutions are the focus
Itzehoe, December 17, 2025 – After being rescued by a consortium of investors and completing significant restructuring measures, the German battery pioneer CustomCells is clearly focusing on the future. The company will focus on special solutions for demanding applications in defense as well as high-performance solutions in motorsports.
The new managing directors Benno Leuthner (CEO) and Dr. Jan Diekmann (CTO), both long-standing executives from the company, are now officially in office and are leading the restart.
The management team is completed by Andreas Löhrke, who, as Chief Product Officer (CPO), is responsible for all product topics in customer projects. He has been working at CustomCells since 2023 and brings international expertise (China, Norway, Sweden, UK) as well as 20 years of automotive experience – including from BMW, where he most recently held a management position in battery development.
"We are entering the restart with a clear set of priorities, a robust investor base and an agile organization," says Benno Leuthner, Managing Director of CustomCells. "Our customers can rely on us to continue to develop technologically leading solutions – but faster, more focused and consistently oriented to their individual requirements."
Focus on two lead markets: Defense and Motorsport
Highly specialized requirements are exactly the terrain where CustomCells traditionally has its greatest technological advantages. In motorsport, the company focuses primarily on racing teams in Formula 1 and the World Endurance Championship (WEC).
The demand for special applications in the defense sector is increasing; CustomCells is one of the few European battery companies that already manufactures according to the necessary military standards and can already offer a supply chain that is largely independent of China. This underlines Europe's technological sovereignty, which is becoming increasingly important in safety-critical industries.
Made in Germany and data science as differentiators
The existing expertise, existing infrastructure and technological depth enable the former Fraunhofer spin-off CustomCells to offer battery cells developed and produced entirely in Germany.
The consistent further development of the technology remains part of CustomCells' DNA. Therefore, the company's own intelligence for development and process-based solutions is also strengthened in order to predict cell performance more precisely, shorten development cycles, implement customer-specific designs more quickly and map quality processes completely digitally. This advantage benefits development services for customers who require industry-specific applications and are looking for their own cell solutions.
"Continuous development is essential, as customers are always asking us for the latest materials and technologies to industrialize advanced products," says Jan Diekmann, CTO of CustomCells.
The new CustomCells is agile, fast and customer-centric
For CustomCells, agility and speed count. In the future, the company wants to run shorter iteration cycles and bring customer solutions to market even faster. At the same time, the core competencies in high-performance cells, material know-how and prototyping will be consistently preserved.
CustomCells reaffirms its claim to supply tailor-made high-performance cells: "Our strength lies in special solutions. We develop battery cells that are exactly suited to the operating conditions of our customers," says CPO Andreas Löhrke. "This remains our core business – only now with a stronger focus, higher speed and a much more robust organization."
Stable financing basis thanks to new investor consortium
The restructuring was made possible by a consortium of family offices, led by existing investor ABACON and Salvia. This ensures operational stability. This long-term, entrepreneurial ownership structure enables the necessary focus and at the same time the flexibility to resolutely implement the transition to the new strategy phase.
About CustomCells
CustomCells is a German developer and manufacturer of high-performance lithium-ion battery cells founded in 2012. At its headquarters in Itzehoe, the company operates an R&D center as well as flexible, scalable production lines – from laboratory to pilot scales. With around 100 employees around the existing core team and new ownership group since July 2025, CustomCells focuses on customized cells for the most demanding applications, especially in defense, motorsport and other high-tech sectors.
The portfolio ranges from prototyping, material and process evaluation to built-to-print manufacturing and tailor-made high-performance cells. With more than 13 years of experience, 3,500 completed projects and more than 500 customers supported – including numerous leading technology and automotive companies – CustomCells is one of the most technologically savvy European players in the field of battery cell technology.
