Ilika plc (LON:IKA) Chief Executive Officer Graeme Purdy caught up with DirectorsTalk to discuss the launch of the company’s ORKA brand for marine applications, its Goliath battery technology, and opportunities in autonomous underwater vehicles.
Q1: Ilika has just updated the market about the launch of its ORKA brand for marine applications. Is this part of the Goliath product line?
A1: Yes. You’ll remember earlier this year we talked about the fact that we had some very positive feedback from customers that we had sent our 10Ah power prototype cells to, which are really intermediate milestones on the Goliath roadmap. That roadmap is principally for automotive applications.
We had seen that the 10 amp power milestone that we had reached had some commercialisation potential and we talked about consumer appliances as well as some defence applications.
Actually, this is an example of a productisation, if I can use that word, of the Goliath concept for a specific market, which is a beachhead market for us.
Q2: It seems that you are branching off from automotive. Is Ilika still intending to license Goliath for automotive applications?
A2: Absolutely. So, this is done in parallel with the automotive roadmap. Clearly, we want to manage commercialisation risk, and we want to demonstrate early traction where that’s possible.
So, we are always on the lookout for commercial applications where we can take that Goliath platform and customise it for specific applications like this one.
Q3: What is an AUV and where are they used?
A3: OK, so AUV stands for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles and as you might imagine, they’re used underwater. They’re actually like mini submarines and they are uncrewed and untethered, which means that they are independently mobile.
Specifically, they’re used for monitoring underwater infrastructure that is of high value, things like oil and gas pipelines, data cables, of course, we’re becoming increasingly reliant on data transfer in the modern world and also large structures, maybe like oil production platforms.
Q4: Is it making the whole battery for AUVs or is it just the cells?
A4: Well, the cells are Goliath-style cells, but we have the capability to package those into an entire battery, which is, of course, the end solution that the AUV manufacturer is looking for.
So, we’re offering an integrated battery solution for those autonomous vehicles.
Q5: Why is now a good time to launch the ORKA brand?
A5: It is a coincidence, but I don’t know if you heard the results of the UK Commons Defence Committee findings just this morning.
I was listening to it on the radio and they were talking about the susceptibility of the Arctic to, let’s say, unfriendly foreign powers and the needs of the Royal Navy to be able to send uncrewed vessels and submarines into the Arctic in order to monitor shipping lanes and also look at cables and infrastructure and make sure it’s not being compromised by foreign powers.
This technology offering fits perfectly into that.
So, there have been a few incidents where, you know, there have been alarm bells that have been sounded. There is an increased scrutiny in this area and that’s exactly the type of opportunity that we’re able to meet.
