Ilika announces details regarding grant funding through the Faraday Battery Challenge.

The Company has now received offers of grant funding to support its participation in two projects selected by the competition worth up to £4.1m in aggregate to Ilika. Participation in both projects is subject to contract and certain other conditions being met.

Ilika is the lead partner in the PowerDrive Line project, in which it intends to collaborate with Honda, Ricardo, the Centre for Process Innovation ("CPI") and University College London. The proposed project grant funding for all partners is £4.4 million, of which Ilika will receive £2.3 million. This 30-month collaborative project will develop a lithium based solid-state Stereax® battery for plug in hybrid and electric vehicles, establish a pre-pilot line for solid-state battery cell technology and develop processes for a solid-state materials supply chain. The innovative solid-state technology will enable safer, more energy and power dense cells that will facilitate ultra-fast charging (enabling PHEV or BEV drivers to charge their cars in under 25 minutes).

Ilika will also participate in a project called, "Multi optimal Solutions for Energy Storage Systems" (MoSESS), in a consortium led by McLaren including other project partners A123 Systems and the University of Warwick. The proposed project grant funding for all partners in this 24-month project is £6.0 million, of which Ilika will receive £1.8 million. The consortium identifies that current electric technology is not sufficiently mature for the demands of high performance cars due to high weight, range limitations and battery management challenges. Through the development of new materials for cells and a modular designed battery, the consortium aims at delivering advances needed to achieve improved levels of functionality and performance, which may one day benefit volume car buyers.

The Innovate UK announcement of this grant funding can be found via this link: Faraday Battery Challenge