Nordic Alpha Partners invests tens of millions in Additive Drives

Nordic Alpha Partners, a private equity investor specializing in green industrial transformation, has acquired a minority stake in Additive Drives. The investment in the German manufacturer of high-performance, 3D-printed electric motors amounts to a mid double-digit million euro sum. Existing investor AM Ventures also participated again in the financing round, strengthening its long-standing partnership with the company.

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.

Arno Held, Managing Partner AM Ventures

Electric motors as the key to the global energy transition

Electric motors and the systems they drive account for around 53 percent of global electricity consumption. This is precisely where Additive Drives comes in: The company's motors achieve an efficiency of up to 98 percent for industrial applications and reduce energy losses by up to 70 percent. This means that they not only exceed the current IE5 standard of the International Electrotechnical Commission, but actually achieve performance values at IE7 level.

For industrial customers, this means significant efficiency gains, lower overall operating costs and a significantly improved sustainability balance.

Magnet-free motors without rare earths

A key differentiating feature of Additive Drives' technology is the complete absence of rare earths. The motors are based on inductive designs and thus reduce geopolitically sensitive dependencies in the supply chain. This not only strengthens European industrial sovereignty, but also makes the technology particularly relevant for strategic industries of the future.

New applications thanks to high thrust-to-weight ratio

In addition to energy efficiency, Additive Drives' electric motors offer the highest thrust-to-weight ratio currently available. This factor is crucial for applications in electromobility, aerospace, aviation and advanced robotics, as it enables longer ranges, lower energy consumption and higher system reliability.

The company already supplies global blue-chip customers such as Amazon, Airbus, Audi, BMW and Schaeffler. Additive Drives' technology is considered particularly scalable and immediately applicable in high-growth but energy-intensive industries such as AI data centers, quantum computing, e-mobility and robotics. The improved energy efficiency also reduces cooling requirements.

Operational basis and rapid scaling

Thanks to the in-house manufacturing technology, prototypes can be produced in just 21 days. This significantly shortens development cycles and reduces downtime for customers. Additive Drives has been profitable from an early stage, is considered bankable by several European credit institutions and was recently ranked 7th in a leading German financial performance ranking of over 8,000 founded companies.

We wanted to work with Nordic Alpha Partners because they have a unique toolkit for industrial scaling and navigating industrial transformations,

Philipp Arnold , CFO Additive Drives

Partner instead of pure investor

Nordic Alpha Partners does not see itself as a passive investor, but as an operational growth partner. With an integrated value creation approach, the fund supports companies along key functions such as ESG, financing, communication, M&A, talent and compliance. The transaction is also supported by funding from the European Union's InvestEU fund.