Ilika PLC's (AIM:IKA, OTCQX:ILIKF) grant-backed inclusion in another Faraday Battery Challenge is "further validation" of its Goliath solid-state battery (SSB), said broker Liberum as it reiterated a 'buy' recommendation.
Armed with a grant of £2.8mln, the company will lead a 24-month collaboration targeting li-ion energy density parity by the end of 2023, analyst Sam Wahab noted.
This comes ahead a planned scale-up to mega-factory scale in order to support a commercial roll-out of a small portfolio of electric hyper and super car models.
"Following the recent and well documented issues surrounding BritishVolt, we view today’s update as another positive political stance with regards to stimulating and diversifying the UK’s approach to EV’s in the future," the analyst added.
The news follows similarly positive developments for Stereax last week, where the company reported initial orders ranging from medical implants to smart lenses, ahead of planned commercial release in the second quarter of the calendar year.
Shares in Ilika rose another 13% to 55.4p on Thursday, meaning they have more than doubled since the start of the year.
Liberum said the recent progress of the shares "continues to reflect the long-term transformational upside potential to investors", with the broker's target price set at 60p.