Ilika plc (LON:IKA), the UK pioneer in solid-state battery technology, has confirmed superior performance of its Goliath batteries manufactured via an industrially scaled process at The UK Battery Industrialisation Centre. This further underpins confidence that the battery is on track on its route to market, reducing costs, increasing range and reducing charging time of electric vehicles.
This follows Ilika’s 5 Feb 2025 announcement reporting large-scale preparation of the Goliath electrolyte and successful coating of its proprietary composite electrolyte-electrode. Ilika has used these materials to build a batch of solid state 10Ah prototype cells. After analysis of the performance of these cells, Ilika can verify that the scaled manufacturing process at UKBIC resulted in a higher manufacturing yield and has delivered cells superior in performance to those made with similar starting materials on Ilika’s pilot line. This confirms that the tolerances of industrial equipment will unlock further improvements to Goliath SSB technology. The increase in manufacturing yield resulted from enhanced handling robustness after coating and fewer defects from the drying process. The superior performance was measured as higher battery capacity under rapid charging protocols.
Ilika’s CEO, Graeme Purdy, said: “This data set confirms the suitability of Ilika’s Goliath process for giga-factory deployment. Following the announcement in the 2024 Autumn Statement from the UK Government of further support for the electrification of the automotive sector, we look forward to further opportunities to benefit from accessing the expertise of UKBIC.”
Managing Director of UKBIC, Sean Gilgunn, said: “Our work with Ilika has been a rewarding demonstration of the benefit to battery companies of being able to scale-up their processes at UKBIC. We are delighted to be supporting Ilika’s process development for the deployment of solid state technology for the benefit of the UK economy and the global automotive industry.”
Ilika announced in October 2023 receipt of grant support from the Automotive Transformation Fund (‘ATF’) through an 18-month, £2.7 million collaboration programme, codenamed Project SiSTEM, to scale up Ilika’s Goliath solid-state battery production capability. Via the programme, Ilika partnered with Mpac Group plc (‘Mpac’) (AIM: MPAC) global supplier of packaging and assembly automation, UKBIC and Agratas, Tata Group’s global battery business.
Through this collaboration, UKBIC and Ilika have carried out physical trials to demonstrate preparation and roll-to-roll coating of its proprietary solid state materials. The planned trials are now complete and the cell test data announced today provide evidence that Ilika’s approach to large format solid-state battery manufacture can be carried out with the types of mixing and coating equipment widely used in existing gigafactories. In addition, the trials show that the quality of product made on large scale equipment actually improves with scale.
Project SiSTEM has now successfully completed, with the associated delivery of the 1.5MWh solid-state battery assembly line from Mpac planned for H2 CY 2025. The assembly line will be capable of producing Ilika’s Goliath prototype large-format pouch cells to automotive original equipment manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers, in line with our planned delivery timeline.
