Ilika Plc (LON:IKA) has taken another step in the commercial development of its solid-state battery technology, with the latest research note from Cavendish highlighting a planned capital raise to support both of the company’s core product lines, Stereax and Goliath.
The note, written by Research Analyst Ian McInally, follows Ilika’s announcement of a new share placing through an accelerated bookbuild at 28p per share, intended to raise gross proceeds of around £4.5m. A further retail offer via the Bookbuild platform could raise up to £0.5m, also at 28p per share. In total, the company expects to raise around £5m gross, with the proceeds directed towards commercial launch, scale-up and further product development.
Cavendish retains a Buy rating on Ilika, with a revised target price of 118p, adjusted from 130p to reflect the expected increase in issued shares. Against a share price of 29p at the time of the note, Cavendish shows an indicated upside of 307%.
Ilika is focused on developing and commercialising solid-state battery technology. Its Stereax product is a small-form thin-film battery aimed at applications such as active implantable medical devices and industrial wireless sensors. Its Goliath product line is a larger-format battery platform targeting areas including electric vehicles, consumer applications and defence.
Research Analyst Ian McInally wrote: “The new funding will be used to further progress the commercialisation of Ilika’s two core product lines.”
That is the key message from the Cavendish note. The capital raise is not presented as a change in strategy, but as a way to fund the next stages of a plan already underway. Cavendish says it had previously anticipated a £5m capital raise within its FY27 forecasts, so it has made no significant changes to headline forecasts.
Operational and financial highlights from the latest research note include:
- Ilika expects to raise approximately £5m gross through the placing and retail offer.
- Up to £2m is expected to support the commercial rollout and scaling of Stereax.
- Up to £3m is expected to support Goliath development through to licensing readiness.
- FY26 revenue is expected to be £1.1m, including £0.1m of commercial revenue from Stereax electrodes supplied to Cirtec.
- FY26E EBITDA loss is expected to be £6.2m, compared with a £5.2m loss in FY25.
- Period-end cash for FY26 was £5.3m, compared with £8.0m in FY25.
- Following the anticipated raise, Cavendish forecasts FY27 period-end cash of £4.8m.
- FY27 revenue is forecast to rise to £2.0m, from £1.1m in FY26E.
For Stereax, the latest progress is centred on the relationship with Cirtec Medical in the United States. Ilika transferred the Stereax production line to Cirtec during 2025 and later completed process qualification for the M300 micro-battery production line at Cirtec’s Massachusetts facility. The first Stereax M300 prototypes began shipping to customers in December 2025, and Ilika received its first purchase orders from Cirtec for Stereax electrodes in January 2026.
The report notes that Ilika delivered its initial batch of Stereax electrodes to Cirtec in March 2026, enabling first commercial revenue recognition and supporting end-customer delivery by Cirtec. The longer-term route is expected to involve income first through a profit-share model, before moving to a revenue-share arrangement once commercial volumes are achieved.
For Goliath, Cavendish points to expanding opportunities beyond the automotive market. While the EV opportunity remains significant, the note highlights nearer-term potential in non-automotive markets, particularly defence and e-bikes. Ilika has shipped 10Ah Goliath cells to customers for evaluation, received encouraging feedback from a UK defence agency on safety tests under battlefield conditions, and announced a joint development programme with Brompton to explore the use of Goliath 10Ah prototypes in next-generation folding e-bikes.
Cavendish also notes that Ilika has pilot-line capacity to produce around 20,000 10Ah Goliath battery cells a year, which could help support commercialisation in defence markets while maintaining localised manufacturing and supply-chain control.
The Cavendish note presents Ilika as a company moving through an important commercial phase. The capital raise is expected to support Stereax as it advances through Cirtec-led commercial activity, while also funding Goliath towards a 10Ah minimum viable product and potential licensing opportunities. The company remains loss-making and still needs to execute against key technical and commercial milestones, but Cavendish’s Buy rating and 118p target price show that the broker continues to see meaningful upside potential if Ilika can deliver on its roadmap.
