Freemelt triples revenue to $5.9M, secures follow-on defense order for E-PBF qualification

Swedish electron beam powder bed fusion (E-PBF) specialist Freemelt has received a follow-on order from an unnamed leading Swedish defense company, moving from feasibility study into proof-of-concept phase for component qualification and prototype manufacturing. The order targets verification of production at scale ahead of potential serial manufacturing. Separately, Freemelt’s 2025 annual report shows net sales nearly tripling to SEK 54.5 million ($5.9M), a 172% year-over-year increase, with installed machine base growing 40% to 40 units including first deliveries to Asia. CEO Daniel Gidlund confirmed the company has established itself as the clear number two in the E-PBF market, supported by a SEK 90 million ($9.8M) rights issue completed in 2025 and a manufacturing transfer to Scanfil effective October 1.

This defense order fits the aerospace qualification grind pattern - a multi-phase, multi-year journey from feasibility through proof-of-concept toward potential serial production, with the customer remaining unnamed at this stage. Freemelt’s positioning as the second E-PBF player behind GE Additive’s Arcam EBM franchise is significant: the company has diversified beyond research into defense, fusion energy (with Fusion for Energy and UK Atomic Energy Authority orders for tungsten qualification), and Asia via a distribution agreement with China’s Jiuli. The tripled revenue and 40% machine-base growth indicate that E-PBF is moving from lab curiosity toward industrial adoption, though the absolute revenue base remains small at under $6M. The defense vertical is politically accelerated in 2025-2026, and Freemelt’s Swedish defense customer represents a potential anchor for serial production if the proof-of-concept phase succeeds.

For Freemelt, the next 12 months are about execution: converting the proof-of-concept defense work into a production contract, scaling the installed base beyond 40 units, and demonstrating that the Jiuli partnership generates meaningful Asian revenue. The company’s technology is credible and its market position as E-PBF number two is defensible, but the revenue base remains early-stage. Buyers evaluating E-PBF should watch whether Freemelt can convert its fusion and defense qualification projects into repeat orders rather than one-off grants.