Varta files for insolvency – plants in Nördlingen and Ellwangen facing closure

Apple as the trigger of the crisis

To explain its decision, the company said that market conditions had deteriorated significantly in recent quarters, demand had been weaker, negative currency effects had come on top, and most recently "a key customer" had ended the cooperation. This refers to the US technology giant Apple, which will in future source its rechargeable "CoinPower" button cells for "AirPods" earphones from China rather than from the Varta plant in Nördlingen, which had been expanded specifically for Apple orders.

"The filing is therefore not due to acute illiquidity in ongoing business operations," the company stated. "Despite intensive discussions with all stakeholders, no commitment to provide the required additional financial resources has been received from any side," a group spokesperson explained. CEO Michael Ostermann said: "Die Varta AG hatte in den vergangenen Quartalen mit großen Herausforderungen zu kämpfen." The aim of the step was, "die wirtschaftliche Zukunft des Unternehmens zu sichern und eine nachhaltige Fortführung des Geschäftsbetriebs zu ermöglichen".

Which parts of the company are affected

The proceedings do not affect all parts of the company equally. Self-administration proceedings have also been filed for the subsidiary Varta Microbattery, which produces, among other things, button cells for hearing aids. The household batteries division is to be kept out of the proceedings, according to the company; it is "legally and operationally separated and financially independent" and is valued at 240 million euros. It will fall to the creditors.

Tojner, who is also Varta, was self-critical in the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung": "Wir haben die Latte zu hoch gelegt. Wir haben verschiedene Projekte gestartet, groß investiert, die Produktion ausgebaut." Too much money had been invested too lightly. On the insolvency itself he said: "Wir bedauern diesen Schritt der finanzierenden Banken, der in dieser Form leider voraussehbar war." It "war klar, dass die Varta in ihrer bestehenden Form nicht weitergeführt werden kann und einen weiteren Sanierungsschritt braucht".

Tojner admits mistakes

Tojner's Montana Group intends, according to its own statements, to work to separate the Microbattery division and the Solutions business out of the restructuring proceedings, "um das Know-how in der Batterieproduktion in Europa zu behalten und weiterzuführen". This should also include Varta Innovation Graz and the subsidiary in Romania. The management board is working "mit aller Kraft daran, so viele Arbeitsplätze wie möglich zu erhalten, eine nachhaltige Fortführung zu ermöglichen und für alle Stakeholder die bestmöglichen Perspektiven zu schaffen".

The former plant in Nördlingen, the later expanded main plant in Ellwangen and the research and development site in Graz form the industrial backbone of the company. The Varta group was founded as early as 1887; the name stands for "Vertrieb, Aufladung, Reparatur transportabler Akkumulatoren". In the 1990s, Varta ran into a crisis, was broken up and sold off piece by piece. In 2007, Tojner acquired the company and took it public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 2017.

From the 2017 IPO to the 2024 restructuring

The proceeds from the IPO and an initial recovery were followed by risky investments. To expand production, millions were invested and debt taken on. In 2019, Varta also bought back the household batteries business. In 2022, the first cracks appeared: Varta had evidently become too dependent on one major customer – Apple. When Apple gradually reduced its orders and ultimately shifted them entirely to China, the company came under pressure.

In 2024, Varta attempted a restructuring under the StaRUG Restructuring Act. In the course of this, Porsche AG came on board and took over the majority of the business with lithium-ion cells (V4Smart), which the sports car manufacturer needs for its electric models. The previous owners Tojner and Porsche contributed a capital injection of 60 million euros, pushed out the remaining shareholders and took Varta off the stock exchange. Tojner and Porsche have since held 50 percent each. At the time, Varta generated revenue of around 793 million euros and a loss of 64.5 million euros.

Many shareholders were pushed out of the company in the – failed – 2024 restructuring. An independent analysis found that Varta needed additional money in the short term in the mid-double-digit million range. The company last published business figures in 2024.

Battery expert warns of consequences for the industry

Battery expert Dirk Uwe Sauer, professor at RWTH Aachen and holder of the Chair of Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems Technology, sees the looming break-up as a problem for the entire industry. "Die Zerschlagung von Varta wäre ein weiterer Schlag für die Batterieindustrie", said Sauer. "Technologisch ist das, was Varta macht, sehr gut." However, unlike China, Europe "nicht über eine grosse Volumenherstellung".

Sauer sees this as a structural problem of the German battery industry as a whole. "Wenn bei einer Zerschlagung jetzt der Gewinnbringer aus dem Unternehmen genommen wird, stellt sich die Frage, wie Innovationen finanziert werden können", said Sauer. "Wir wissen schon lange, dass wir in dieses Dilemma mit der Abhängigkeit von China hineinlaufen." As a possible alternative, he named sodium-ion batteries: These were "für Europa eine echte Chance, um weniger abhängig von China zu sein, weil man über den Weltmarkt hierfür besser an die benötigten Rohstoffe kommt".

Impact on employees

The news was broadcast on 24 July 2026 on Deutschlandfunk. According to Forbes magazine, Tojner, with a fortune of 1.2 billion dollars, ranks 8th among the richest Austrians, and has been described in the facts as 60 years old. On the day after the insolvency filing, Varta exemplifies the situation of German industry: a traditional company that had early on placed its bets on major customers like Apple, loses the order and is fighting for survival.

The immediate consequences for employees are severe. The plant in Nördlingen, with around 350 workers, is to be closed in the autumn. The future of the other sites, in particular the headquarters in Ellwangen and the development sites in Graz and Romania, has not yet been finally decided, according to Varta and the Montana Group. The coming weeks are likely to show which parts of the company will be retained in the course of self-administration and which will be sold or wound up.