Maxime Delmee proudly announced that his startup had passed the second stage to join the prestigious European accelerator EIT Raw Materials on 3 June. "An incredible opportunity to further develop our technology, expand our network and bring about significant change in the raw materials sector. A big thank you to the EIT Raw Materials team María Encina López Arias, Antonis Politis , Nicolas Menou and coaches Joachim Blazer and Hans Westerhof for believing in our vision and supporting our mission", stated Delmee. The Luxembourger is a former doctoral student at the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, and came up with the idea of developing next-generation materials for addictive metal printing - not only for the space but also the aerospace and automotive sectors.

Less than two months later, the doctoral student and his directors brought together new shareholders, who raised a small round of financing of €450,000. More than the amount, it is their identity that is interesting. With 2,007 of the 3,155 new shares, for €400,000, the Luxembourg Space Sector Development fund - a 50%-50% venture between the state and SES - has become the leading shareholder, just ahead of the EIT and... the former minister of the economy and space sector enthusiast, , who took 7.2% stake for €34,000. "Étienne was very important in this fundraising," Delmee said, speaking from a trade fair in Frankfurt. "But the combination of all the shareholders further strengthens our image, because we have had a patent on our technology from the outset."

While addictive metal printing is still in its infancy - Luxembourg also counts Saturne Technology - with European sales of €10bn-€12bn, its potential is enormous in key sectors. "And the powder production that the industry needs is currently around 100 tonnes. What's more, its growth rate is over 30%", explained AM4AM's CEO. The Luxembourg infrastructure will enable 40 tonnes of the strongest aluminium on the market to be produced from 2023, but the growth of the three-strong company remains relatively modest for the time being.

"This is just the beginning", said Delmee, whose company won the 12th Fit4Start prize, which also received €800,000 in non-equity funding from the Luxembourg government as part of its young innovative company status. "But we've come at the right time. And we should grow to seven people before the end of 2025, especially to develop from a sales and marketing point of view."

Read the original French-language version of this news report