Our Strategic Investment Alongside Parcom and Why We Invested in Tulip Tech

Europe is getting serious about drones. But we’re still far less serious about what powers them.

For UAS operators and OEMs, power is a performance bottleneck: range, payload, cold-weather behavior, and reliability under real operational stress all determine what the platform can actually do.

Tulip Tech is building the battery systems that unlock those missions.

They design and manufacture high-density, custom battery packs in the Netherlands, with tightly integrated electronics and firmware, enabling OEMs to deploy power systems engineered and validated for each specific aircraft platform.

What stands out is product performance in the field:

• Meaningful range and endurance gains versus incumbent packs (often 30–100% longer flight time, depending on mission profile), enabling heavier payloads or longer time-on-station
• Built for operational reality, informed by continuous feedback loops and fast iteration cycles
• OEM-first integration, through co-development, qualification support, and repeat deliveries
• Proven use cases in drones, including our own firsthand exposure through DeltaQuad and other UAS operators where improved power directly translates into better outcomes

The team is a big part of why. CEO Bernd Rietberg brings deep technical credibility (a PhD in physics) and relentless execution energy, paired with a team that combines engineering depth with the operational grit required to build and scale hardware the hard way.

On production, Tulip Tech has a clear scaling path through strong in-house capabilities and a close collaboration with VDL (for higher-volume, more standardised programs), supporting quality, delivery reliability, and repeatability as volumes ramp.

Tulip Tech didn’t stumble into defence; they built for it from the start. By pairing high-performance energy systemswith a clear plan to strengthen supply-chain resilience over time, Tulip Tech is building a critical power layer for European and allied defence technology.

Finally, we’re proud to back Tulip Tech alongside Parcom. We’ve seen in our work together (for example with DeltaQuad) how our strengths combine when a company is moving through growth phases fast: Parcom brings investment capacity, strategic expertise and network; Keen brings deep defence-tech focus and the European ecosystem. Together, we help strengthen execution on innovation, operational excellence and international expansion — from product development to partnerships, and from delivery and service to building the organisation for scale.

Press Release

Tulip Tech, developer of high-energy battery systems that extend Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV, also known as drone) flight time by 30 to 100 percent, today announced a strategic growth investment to accelerate the scale-up of its battery technology for European defence and civilian drone platforms. The investment supports Tulip Tech’s mission to address one of the key limitations in UAV operations: mission endurance.

Headquartered in Den Bosch, the Netherlands, Tulip Tech designs, integrates, and manufactures customised, high-energy battery systems for unmanned aerial, ground & underwater vehicles. Its battery solutions extend mission endurance by 30% to 100% compared to standard battery packs, enabling longer flight times, greater operational range, and increased payload flexibility. The company serves defence, security, and civil OEM customers across Europe. In April, Tulip Tech delivered over 100,000 battery packs in a single month for the first time in its history, marking a key milestone in its production scale and operational maturity.

This investment supports the next phase of Tulip Tech’s growth, focused on scaling production, strengthening supply chain resilience, and expanding its international customer base. Following this recent production milestone, the company is now focused on further increasing capacity to meet rapidly growing demand. As unmanned systems become increasingly critical in defence and security, reliable high-energy battery systems are a key enabler of operational effectiveness and deployment readiness.

Across Europe, demand for UAV capabilities is rapidly increasing, while access to high-performance, locally sourced battery systems remains limited. Tulip Tech aims to play a key role in strengthening Europe’s technological independence in this domain.

Bernd Rietberg, Founder and CEO of Tulip Tech:

“Across Europe, drones are becoming a critical capability in defence and security, but their effectiveness is still constrained by battery performance. At Tulip Tech, we focus on solving that bottleneck. This investment allows us to scale production and support more OEMs with battery systems that significantly extend mission endurance. Our ambition is to become a key European partner for high-performance UAV energy systems.”

Norman Bremer, Partner at Parcom:‍

“Tulip Tech sits at the intersection of two structural shifts we have followed closely: the rise of unmanned platforms and Europe’s push for sovereign industrial capacity. Bernd and his team have built a differentiated product, real customer traction, and a culture that can scale. Parcom will work alongside Keen Venture Partners and the Tulip Tech team to support the company’s next phase of industrial growth.”

Alexander Ribbink, Partner at Keen Venture Partners:

“What attracted Keen to Tulip Tech was the entrepreneurial energy of Bernd and his team, their deep tech expertise, and a clear vision. They already have a strong andgrowing international customer base, and we see real potential to make Tulip Tech a cornerstone of Europe's sovereign drone supply chain.”