Ilika opens new large-format battery facility in Hampshire

Solid-state battery technology developer Ilika has opened its new large format battery facility - the ‘Goliath Pre-Pilot Line’, (GPPL) - it announced on Tuesday, for the development and initial production of solid-state batteries in Hampshire.

The AIM-traded company said the objective of its Goliath programme was to develop large format solid-state batteries for electric vehicles.

It said it had established the new facility to support the programme, which was underpinning its portfolio of industrial collaboration programmes.

The industrial collaborations included the recently-announced Granite programme, led by Jaguar Land Rover, as well as the MoSESS and PowerDrive Line projects, which started earlier with collaboration partners including Honda and Ricardo.

Ilika said the new facilities were being partially-funded from the £5m granted to the firm through the Faraday Battery Challenge, which was part of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund delivered by UK Research & Innovation.

The new building had a footprint of around 750 square metres, including more than 600 square metres of battery development laboratories and production equipment.

Two dry rooms, installed to ISO 7 standard, were set to ensure high level particle filtration and near-zero humidity for handling moisture sensitive materials.

The labs included state-of-the-art equipment for the characterisation of source materials, the preparation of solid-state batteries and the testing of produced cells, the Ilika board explained.

It said the GPPL was a pre-pilot line, intended to accelerate the scale-up and transfer of the solid-state battery technology to pilot production level.

“Ilika has a reputation for being able to respond to commercial opportunities in a rapid, agile manner,” said chief executive officer Graeme Purdy.

“This facility has been designed, built and commissioned from a standing start in the fourth quarter of last year.

“The GPPL will support Ilika to further develop and scale-up its solid state technology for electric vehicles and give the UK its first footprint for the development of a technology expected to significantly disrupt the automotive industry.”