You have a vision, full order books and a tough expansion plan.

To put it into practice, they have developed their own technology and management system;

they went to the green field and built their own factory there.

It is located at the gates of Lutherstadt Wittenberg, has a production area larger than a football field, is considered one of the most modern of its kind and is also called that: long before the Californian car manufacturer Tesla set up its factory over in Brandenburg, the German Start-up Tesvolt had the name of its factory written in large letters on the corrugated iron facade: "Gigafactory T1".

A start-up with a factory – rather a rarity.

Stephen Finsterbusch

Editor in Business.

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Solar cells on the roof and a heat pump for the office wing make the company energy self-sufficient.

In the hall you can see battery boxes, containers the size of a single-family house and switch cabinets, computers and screens, countless cables, wires and flashing displays, but hardly anyone.

Automation makes it possible.

Lots of work, but hardly any workers.

Handles are machine things.

"What Tesla does for its cars, we also do for ships," says Daniel Hannemann, one of the two founders.

And that means: Tesvolt develops, produces and supplies lithium-based battery systems.

They can power e-motors of all types and sizes.

A booming business.

References, prices and 3000 projects

The Association of the Electrical and Digital Industry in Germany (ZVEI) puts the annual turnover of all battery manufacturers in Germany at around 10 billion euros - and the trend is rising.

Achim Kampker, mechanical engineer, professor at RWTH Aachen University and deputy head of research production for battery cells at the Fraunhofer IPT, said in a video presentation a few weeks ago in Bitterfeld that the demand for rechargeable batteries will increase fivefold by 2030 - at least.

A “gigantic industry” is emerging across Europe around energy storage.

Tesla was actually the starting gun;

a company like Tesvolt quickly followed suit.

The US vehicle manufacturer produces batteries for its own cars;

the Wittenbergers build batteries for industrial and commercial customers.

Tesla is turning the entire automotive industry upside down;

Tesvolt is part of the revolution in the energy scene.

Outside the industry, the start-up is an insider tip - it has the best references in the scene.

It has provided the giant energy storage systems for the Coca-Cola plant in Brazil and the world's largest off-grid battery system for the Warren Buffett Foundation in Rwanda;

it has equipped Europe's largest e-charging station with batteries and the hydro-solar grid in the national park in Chile.

All in all, the start-up has more than 3000 projects going around the world.

High and low voltage, on and off grid, combined heat and power in combination with sun, wind and water.

At the moment you can't produce as much as you have to to process all the orders, says Hannemann.

Germany has an energy problem and Tesvolt has a solution.

The plants in the factory are working at full speed, the hundred employees are working on innovations.

Conventional hierarchies have been abolished at Tesvolt, says Hannemann.

All activities are made completely transparent, the remuneration is success-based.

Like Google, he explains.

Hannemann and his founding and business partner Simon Schandert built the factory around their philosophy and technology.