Ilika Plc (LON:IKA), a pioneer in materials innovation and solid-state battery technology, announces a two-year collaborative project with Galvani Bioelectronics to develop a solid state battery for miniature medical implants. Ilika’s StereaxTM batteries have a high power density, a long battery life and they can be produced in miniature form, making them particularly suitable for these micro-devices.
This collaboration aims to deliver key components of bioelectronic devices, which have the potential to provide treatments for serious health conditions, through the body’s own nervous system. The £1.0 million development project is supported by funding of £0.7 million, which Ilika will receive from Innovate UK and the Medical Research Council.
Commenting on this grant award, Graeme Purdy, Ilika Plc CEO, said: “This partnership with Galvani Bioelectronics, using Ilika’s lithium-ion Stereax battery technology, may provide the potential to treat diseases that have so far been difficult to manage. Collaborations like this are critical to the delivery of advances in the field of solid state battery development.”
Zeus Capital said:
This morning’s announcement from Ilika, although relatively modest in initial top line impact, has significant commercial implications in the medium to longer term. Galvani was established to advance bioelectronic medicine, an emerging scientific field aimed at using tiny implantable devices to control electrical signals in nerves to treat a range of debilitating chronic diseases. Galvani combines GSK’s world-leading drug discovery and disease biology expertise, with Verily’s expertise in the miniaturisation of low-power electronic devices, data analytics and software development for clinical applications. Veriliy – formerly Google Life Sciences – was set up by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin for the advancement of life sciences. Solid-state battery technology is really currently the only existing low-power source choice for intra-body bioelectronic medical applications for the following reasons:
i. There is no potential for the leakage of harmful liquid electrolytes into the human body chemistry.
ii. Solid-state battery chemistry can be miniaturized to a further extent than liquid based chemistries, due to negligible leakage currents and the capacity to maintain much smaller charges for much longer times.
Ilika’s Stereax™ solid-state battery platform has been selected for the development effort. For bioelectronics applications of this nature batteries are charged wirelessly in situ using magnetic fields in a process known as near-field charging. The first stage of this development is being funded by Innovate UK and the Medical Research Council.
* Another blue chip endorsement of Ilika’s technology and brand. For Ilika to be selected to take part in such a high-tech development effort in bio medical science with a company established by GSK and the founders of Google is great news for the company. It is testament to Ilika’s growing reputation and brand as a global leader in the provision of high-quality, solid-state battery technology solutions in a number of disruptive markets at the onset of significant growth.
