Ilika PLC (AIM:IKA, OTCQX:ILIKF), a pioneering company in the field of solid-state battery technology, has reached a significant milestone in the development of its innovative Goliath battery.
The company has successfully completed the design phase for the first prototype of this battery, known as P1, marking a crucial step in its journey towards creating a commercially viable product by 2025.
The P1 prototype is a major advancement in battery technology. It is a solid-state pouch cell, which means it's a type of battery that's thinner and more flexible than traditional cylindrical cells. It combines a nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) cathode with a silicon anode, a combination that promises higher energy storage and efficiency.
Reaching the D4 development point, as it's called, is a big deal for Ilika: It means that the company has met several important performance targets, including how much energy the battery can store and how quickly it can deliver that energy. This achievement puts Ilika on track to match the energy levels of current lithium-ion batteries by the end of this year.
In the next six months, Ilika plans to manufacture and test batches of these pouch cells. The goal is to provide fully tested P1 cells to about 15 customers in 2024. These customers are mainly car manufacturers and suppliers but also include companies making consumer appliances.
Looking ahead, Ilika is working towards its next big goal: the minimum viable product (MVP), expected by 2025. This next-generation prototype, known as P2, will be even more advanced, with the ability to stack up to 30 layers in the battery, offering greater power and efficiency.
Chief executive Graeme Purdy said: "Achieving our D4 development point is an important milestone on our technology roadmap, as it forms the basis of our first prototype product pilot run, with the objective of sharing prototypes with our customer base in 2024.
"This achievement is a clear demonstration that the Ilika team is working very efficiently with the available resources to achieve credible outcomes for our customers within the ambitious timeframes that we have set."