On 14 October 2026 the European Commission allocated €168.2M to the first eight projects under the industrial reinforcement pillar of the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP), all aimed at energetic components for missiles, drones and ammunition. One of the eight is ROCMAN, a solid rocket motor project around Nammo’s site in Raufoss, Norway. Nammo was awarded €25M after a competitive process, and the Norwegian Government matches the EU contribution, bringing total public funding for the project to about €50M. The Commission’s factsheet puts ROCMAN’s total EU funding at €30M, with the objective “solid-fuel rocket motors for missiles”.

What the money buys

The funding expands solid rocket motor production at Raufoss with a fourth production line, raising output and shortening lead times for motors used in missile systems and artillery ammunition. The project also covers improved site security, better access to critical raw materials and components, and additional storage capacity in Germany for responsiveness and surge capability. “Europe needs a stronger and more resilient defense industrial base, and this investment enables Nammo and our partners to expand capacity faster, strengthen supply security, and deliver the capabilities that allied armed forces need,” said Morten Brandtzæg, President and CEO of Nammo. Across all eight projects, the Commission expects €1.26 billion of industrial investment across 17 sites in 14 EU Member States and Norway, and from 2027, annual production of 3,500 drone and missile propulsion systems.

Where a Dutch seed company fits

ROCMAN brings together six European companies: Nammo Raufoss, Diehl of Germany, MICAM of Ireland, Magnaghi of Italy, Fast Forward Architects of Belgium, and Arceon of Delft. Arceon engineers and manufactures carbon-ceramic composites, its Carbeon family, and co-designs components that operate above 1,500 °C with aerospace, defence and industrial customers: solid rocket motor nozzles, nozzle extensions, heat shields and leading edges. Founded in 2018 and a 2023 graduate of ESA’s business incubator in Noordwijk, the team saw Carbeon samples launched to the International Space Station in November 2024 and mounted outside the Columbus module for at least six months of exposure, part of ESA’s Europe Material Ageing campaign with CNES. The material is about four times lighter than the metals it replaces. Arceon’s specific contribution inside ROCMAN has not been published.

Tenzing Alpha backed Arceon in 2024, and as Lead Partner we have worked with the team on navigating qualification processes, refining the go-to-market and securing early traction with aerospace and defence partners. The seat in the consortium is theirs: a material with customers in aerospace and industry, now part of Europe’s defence supply chain at the moment the primes need to scale. That is the Dutch dual-use pattern we look for.

Source: Nammo, 14 October 2026

Source: European Commission, 14 October 2026

The Commission expects the first production effects from 2027, and a fourth line at Raufoss will need materials and components from across Europe. The suppliers for that capacity are being chosen now. Dutch founders building for this supply chain have a shorter route to a European prime than they had a year ago.

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