Tulip Tech and Factorial Energy have established a strategic partnership following customer flight testing of Factorial’s solid-state and lithium-metal cells in a Tulip battery pack.
The commercial agreement covers joint customer engagement and sets out a roadmap toward volume production. In the initial flight testing, Factorial’s cell technology delivered more than 30% additional flight range, with the result recorded before any engineering optimization of the integration.
Battery selection can have a significant effect on unmanned-system endurance, particularly where standard off-the-shelf packs are used. Tulip Tech develops battery packs around specific mission requirements, matching applications against a database spanning thousands of cells from more than 50 suppliers, or developing custom cells where off-the-shelf options are unsuitable.
Bernd Rietberg, Founder and CEO of Tulip Tech, stated, “Battery performance is the ceiling on almost every drone mission, and Tulip’s job is to raise that ceiling by matching each mission to the best cell technology available. In this program, Factorial’s solid-state and lithium-metal platform delivered more than a 30% range gain in initial testing — a standout result that has earned its place in our portfolio. We’re excited to move from testing into commercialization, and to keep pushing UAV performance further alongside all of our cell partners.”
Siyu Huang, CEO of Factorial, added, “Tulip has been an excellent partner to scale together with speed and reach. Last year our automotive cell platform powered a historic 1,200+ kilometer drive on a single charge. This year it’s the sky. Our first long distance flight delivered more than 30% longer range. Where lithium-ion runs out of road, lithium metal is just taking off.”
Factorial’s technology expands the range of cell options available within Tulip Tech’s mission-specific battery selection process. That process evaluates operating profile, environment, duty cycle, form factor, volumes, and timeline before cell selection and integration.
Tulip Tech has completed battery integrations across several unmanned platforms. The DeltaQuad Evo had its flight time extended to eight hours using a high-energy 450 Wh/kg pack with no other hardware changes, while the Acecore Noa recorded a 63% increase in flight time using a retrofittable 39 Ah lithium-metal pack at 360 Wh/kg. For Lobster Robotics, Tulip Tech’s battery solution provided 60% more battery life in the same hull.
The company has produced and delivered more than 100,000 battery packs in a single month and serves more than 250 customers across the defense, security, and commercial sectors, including NASA. Every battery pack is individually validated for voltage, internal resistance, DCIR uniformity, and capacity, with a field failure rate below 1%.
As unmanned-system missions become longer and more data-intensive, Tulip Tech also points to increasing emphasis on cell and pack sourcing within European and U.S. procurement. The company works with more than 50 suppliers offering non-Chinese sourcing options, assembles its battery packs in the Netherlands, and provides compliance documentation with each shipment.
Adding Factorial’s higher-energy-density cell technology to this supply chain gives OEMs another option for increasing battery performance without changing the sourcing position their programs depend on.
