Ore Energy B.V.: Iron Meets Air for Strategic Energy Autonomy
Europe’s quest for energy resilience has found an unlikely hero in rust. Ore Energy B.V., a Dutch deep-tech venture born in the labs of TU Delft, is reinventing the battery by turning iron into a vessel for long-lasting power storage. In a world accustomed to lithium-ion dominance, this young company has quietly hooked up the world’s first grid-connected iron-air battery in the Netherlands, a feat with outsized implications[1]. Using only iron, water and air, Ore Energy’s technology delivers multi-day energy storage at a fraction of conventional battery costs[2][3]. The achievement comes at a critical moment: Europe is urgently seeking homegrown solutions to cut dependence on imported lithium and bolster its energy security. Ore Energy’s innovation promises not just a technical breakthrough, but a strategic one – a new tool in Europe’s arsenal to ensure that the lights stay on and missions stay powered even when global supply chains or grids falter. Such a prospect has piqued the interest of energy planners and defense strategists alike. This introduction only scratches the surface of Ore Energy’s story; what follows is a deep dive into how a rust-powered battery could help fortify European autonomy in both civil and defense domains.