Tulip Tech has announced a large-scale drone battery contract with the Dutch Ministry of Defence (MoD), focused on advancing defense capabilities for the Netherlands and Ukraine.
The agreement, signed by Dutch Minister of Defence Ruben Brekelmans, centers on the deployment of advanced battery and energy technologies to support military operations.
Through a strategic partnership with VDL Groep, Tulip Tech will manufacture drone batteries using a fully automated robotic production line. This high-capacity manufacturing infrastructure allows for production at an unprecedented scale. The first units from this automated line were completed earlier this week, marking a significant milestone in European defense manufacturing innovation.
The collaboration aims to scale production capacity to hundreds of thousands of units per year. This expansion is intended to establish a foundation for a European drone battery gigafactory, designed to enhance strategic autonomy, resilience, and sustainability across critical defense and technology sectors.
The formal signing took place at the VDL facility in Born. Tulip Tech was joined by Milrem Robotics and DeltaQuad, specialists in unmanned vehicles and systems, as part of a collective effort to strengthen regional defense and energy independence. Following the event, Minister Brekelmans and MoD officials visited Tulip’s headquarters in Den Bosch for a demonstration of the company’s fast-prototyping capabilities and specialized expertise in drone battery technology.
