Cost-effective and sustainable
The FBC aims to accelerate the development and commercialisation of state-of-the-art battery technologies in the UK and support growth of the supply chain in the UK battery sector.
The competition was open to two types of projects, covering early-stage feasibility studies, and more advanced research and development (R&D), with a total of £11 million in funding support available.
Applicants were measured on their projects’ potential to be cost-effective, long-lasting, and sustainable, to help the UK automotive sector meets its net zero commitments.
Successful proposals included
Project DANCER
A collaboration between Echion Technologies and Warwick Manufacturing Group, which has been awarded two grants totalling £1.46 million to target the swift commercialisation of Echion’s fast-charging battery material to improve lithium-ion battery performance.
The project’s focus is on developing a unique cell design that meets customer specifications and exceeds 2025+ automotive market requirements.
Project AEROPROOF
Led by Thermulon Ltd, in collaboration with University of Southampton and CPI, the project has been awarded grants totalling just under £550,000, which looks to use Thermulon’s superinsulating aerogels. This is used to reduce thermal runaway in lithium-ion batteries, where a cell heats in an uncontrolled manner, breaching the safe operating temperature and triggering a domino effect on the rest of the module.
The project will develop the UK’s first aerogel-based electric vehicle thermal runaway barrier, designed to prevent such thermal incidents.
Project LIBerate
A new project, led by Cellmine Ltd, in collaboration with RS Bruce and the University of St Andrews, LIBerate, has been awarded just over £525,000. The project aims to improve the recycling of lithium batteries, which has proved a significant challenge for the sector.
With 730,000 tonnes of battery waste expected by 2030 per year, the project’s innovative processes could revolutionise the recycling of cathode metals to prevent unsustainable landfill waste for the UK.
Impact on our day-to-day lives
Tony Harper, Challenge Director of FBC said:
The flourishing UK battery technology industry will play a critical role in meeting our net zero targets and decarbonising the transport sector.
We want to accelerate its growth, generate high value and high tech jobs, and also support individual projects that have significant potential to improve the performance of batteries.
This new round of funding enables us to support companies across the battery supply value chain and build on the UK’s world class research and innovation.
Each of the FBC grant winners now have the necessary funding to begin pursuing their respective battery innovations.
With our support, they’ll be able to progress their projects towards commercialisation, generating real impact on our day-to-day lives.
Other grant winners
Innovation feasibility
- Batri Limited
- Gencoa Limited
- Illumion Limited
- FluoRok Limited
- Upgrade Technology Engineering Limited
- The Graphene Corporation Limited
- CDO2 Limited
- Thermulon Limited
- Altilium Metals Limited
- Baruch Enterprises Limited
- Hy-Met Limited
Innovation collaborative R&D
- Breathe Battery Technologies Limited
- Sigma Lithium Limited
- IONETIC Limited
- Echion Technologies Limited
- KW Special Projects Limited
- Avocet Battery Materials Limited
- CellMine Limited
- Eatron Technologies Limited
Find out more about UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) FBC. Join the growing community of organisations working on battery technology in the UK, visit the UK Batteries Network.
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