Ilika plc (LON:IKA), a pioneer in solid-state battery technology, has announced the signing of a framework agreement with the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) for the production of Goliath solid-state pouch cells.
The framework agreement will support the of scale up of Ilika’s production of large-format solid-state lithium-ion cell technology, which has the potential to transform the performance and safety of domestic appliances as well as electric vehicles (EVs).
Currently operating from a pre-pilot production line capable of producing 1kWh per week, Ilika has plans to scale up its current site in Romsey, UK to an automated facility producing 10 kWh per week by 2022. The next stage of scale-up will involve it reaching 5 MWh per week to satisfy increasing customer demand. The signing of the framework agreement with UKBIC is a significant and important step towards achieving that goal.
Solid-state technology is required to achieve the continuous performance improvements expected by industry and consumers. Faster charging times, higher energy density and longer lifetimes are all benefits expected to be delivered by the transition to solid-state. Many companies involved in the manufacture of cordless domestic appliances are demanding performance exceeding the capability of traditional lithium-ion technology. In the automotive sector, Ilika is collaborating on three projects, supported by over £5m of grant funding from the UK Government’s Faraday Battery Challenge, which is managed by Innovate UK.
UKBIC is a publicly-funded battery product development facility in Coventry, in the West Midlands, which welcomes manufacturers, entrepreneurs, researchers and educators. Support from UKBIC can be accessed by any organisation with existing or new battery technology so long as that technology brings ‘green jobs’ and prosperity to the UK.
Jeff Pratt, Managing Director of UKBIC, stated: “I am delighted that Ilika, one of the UK’s leading companies in solid-state cell production, will be working with us to develop their plans for the industrialisation of their cell technology.”
Graeme Purdy, Ilika’s CEO, added: “Our Goliath programme is perfectly aligned with the UK’s Industrial Strategy and we intend to work closely with the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre to scale up our technology for market introduction in the most agile manner possible.”
