Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), a global leader in the development and production of hybrid and electric automobiles, has renewed its relationship with Ilika Technologies Ltd to accelerate the development of high performance battery materials, following a successful completion of the first project.

Despite the difficult economic climate for automotive companies, Toyota remains committed to innovating next generation vehicles through its Global Vision 2020,

“Open the Frontiers of Tomorrow”.

One of the key enabling technologies for achieving the next generation of hybrid and electric vehicles is the development of batteries with significantly higher energy densities and more rapid charging and discharging times. The development of novel materials with enhanced properties is seen as key to innovating these improved batteries, ultimately allowing a driving range equivalent to that of conventional cars.

In order to overcome these obstacles and to achieve its Vision, Toyota began its collaboration in February 2008 with Ilika Technologies Ltd which accelerates materials discovery by using its unique high-throughput techniques. Following the successful completion of the first project, Toyota has doubled the scale of the programme.

“It has been an inspiration to work with Toyota over the last 12 months, and we are extremely pleased that Toyota recognises the value that our high-throughput techniques can add to the development of new technologies”, said Graeme Purdy, CEO of Ilika. “We are proud to be a part of the electric vehicle revolution together the world’s no.1 automotive company.”

“Ilika’s high-throughput techniques are essential to overcome some of the technological barriers we face in the development of leading edge technologies”, said Mr. Okajima, Project Manager at Toyota’s Frontier & Advanced Engineering Strategy Dept in its R&D Management Center.

“The first project confirmed our views that Ilika is an innovative, professionally-managed enterprise, and we are very pleased with Ilika’s achievements in this period.”