Ilika PLC (AIM:IKA, OTCQX:ILIKF), a specialist in solid-state battery technology, has landed a £400,000 grant from the Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) to enhance its Goliath pilot production capabilities.
The funding is part of a 16-month, £2.7 million collaboration programme that kicked off on 1 October. Ilika is collaborating with Mpac Group (LSE:MPAC) PLC and the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) for this initiative.
Mpac, a global engineering and service provider specialising in automation and packaging, will work in tandem with Ilika to design and commission a 1.5MWh solid-state battery (SSB) assembly line.
This line aims to produce large-format pouch cells under Ilika's Goliath SSB prototype, targeting automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and tier-1 suppliers. The assembly line is slated to be fully operational at Ilika's facility by the end of the first half of 2025.
UKBIC serves as a crucial bridge between promising laboratory-scale battery technology and mass production. The centre will conduct physical trials to produce Ilika's SSB electrodes at gigawatt-hour (GWh) scale, building on the work completed in the BUS100 programme.
ATF, a funding initiative designed to support industrialisation on a large scale, plans to invest up to £850 million to develop an electrified automotive supply chain in the UK. This fund aligns with the UK government's 10-Point Plan for a green industrial revolution and its Transport Decarbonisation Plan.
Running parallel to Project SiSTEM, Ilika had previously announced Project HISTORY on 26 January 2023. This project focuses on developing prototype automotive A-sample SSBs at the scaled Ilika pilot facility.