Solid-state battery specialists Ilika PLC (AIM:IKA, OTCQX:ILIKF) said it exited the first half of its financial year with a strong balance sheet as it updated on the significant operational progress it made over the period.
The company has made strides in its Stereax business, beginning the period with the shipment of stacked M300 batteries from its UK manufacturing facility.
A pivotal development was the licensing and royalty agreement with US-based Cirtec Medical, signed in August, enabling the transfer of Stereax production to Cirtec's facility in Lowell, MA.
This collaboration has seen Ilika dispatch key manufacturing equipment to Cirtec, although the cathode manufacturing process remains in the UK.
At the same time, Ilika's Goliath programme has also seen substantial progress, particularly in technical improvements and scaling up production.
The company is on track to achieve lithium-ion energy density parity by the end of 2023. This effort is supported by significant grant funding, including the Faraday Battery Challenge's HISTORY project and the Automotive Transformation Fund's SiSTEM project.
Financially, Ilika anticipates announcing a revenue of £1.3 million for the period, a significant jump from the previous year, primarily due to increased grant funding.
As a result, the EBITDA loss is expected to more than halve to £1.9 million while cash and cash equivalents were £13.2 million as the of the 31 October period end.