Ilika Plc (LON:IKA), a pioneer in solid-state battery technology and materials innovation, announced today further details regarding the grant funding through the Faraday Battery Challenge announced yesterday (see below).
The Company has now received offers of grant funding to support its participation in two projects selected by the competition worth up to £4.1m in aggregate to Ilika. Participation in both projects is subject to contract and certain other conditions being met.
Ilika is the lead partner in the PowerDrive Line project, in which it intends to collaborate with Honda, Ricardo, the Centre for Process Innovation (“CPI”) and University College London. The proposed project grant funding for all partners is £4.4 million, of which Ilika will receive £2.3 million. This 30-month collaborative project will develop a lithium based solid-state Stereax® battery for plug in hybrid and electric vehicles, establish a pre-pilot line for solid-state battery cell technology and develop processes for a solid-state materials supply chain. The innovative solid-state technology will enable safer, more energy and power dense cells that will facilitate ultra-fast charging (enabling PHEV or BEV drivers to charge their cars in under 25 minutes).
Ilika will also participate in a project called, “Multi optimal Solutions for Energy Storage Systems” (MoSESS), in a consortium led by McLaren including other project partners A123 Systems and the University of Warwick. The proposed project grant funding for all partners in this 24-month project is £6.0 million, of which Ilika will receive £1.8 million. The consortium identifies that current electric technology is not sufficiently mature for the demands of high performance cars due to high weight, range limitations and battery management challenges. Through the development of new materials for cells and a modular designed battery, the consortium aims at delivering advances needed to achieve improved levels of functionality and performance, which may one day benefit volume car buyers.
Grant funding from Faraday Battery Challenge
Ilika Plc a pioneer in solid-state battery technology and materials innovation, has received an offer of significant grant funding, through the Faraday Battery Challenge Programme, as announced today by the Business Secretary, Greg Clark*.
The Company is the lead partner in the PowerDrive Line project, which is one of 12 innovation projects that have been allocated a total of £22m of grant funding from the government’s Faraday Battery Challenge programme. The Faraday Battery Challenge is part of the government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, which brings together world-leading research with businesses to take on the major societal and economic challenges of our time.
The PowerDrive Line project underpins the recently announced extension of the Company’s Stereax® solid-state battery roadmap to develop large format cells for the next generation of safer, high-power electric car batteries. In particular, the project will develop a process for manufacturing the batteries at scale and technology for ultra-fast charging. Ilika will establish a pre-pilot line for high power solid-state cells as well as developing the materials supply chain.
Further details of the funding, programme timescale and consortium partners will be provided once the contracts have been completed.
