Ilika completes government-backed battery programme with defence and e-bike interest

Tech Hardware & Electrical Equipment Written by: Ian Lyall 07:25 Thu 10 Sep 2026 --> Proactive has a commercial relationship with Ilika PLC. This article was produced independently under Proactive's Editorial Standards Policy . Disclaimer No investment advice About this content Editorial Standards & Policies Share article About this content × About Ian Lyall Ian Lyall, a seasoned journalist and editor, brings over three decades of experience to his role as Managing Editor at Proactive. Overseeing Proactive's editorial and broadcast operations across six offices on three continents, Ian is responsible for quality control, editorial policy, and content production. He directs the creation of 50,000 pieces of real-time news, feature articles, and filmed interviews annually. Prior to Proactive, Ian helped lead the business output at the Daily... Read more About the publisher Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists. Proactive news team spans the world’s key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth. We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors. The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies. Use of technology Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter. Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows. Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation. Ilika PLC ( AIM:IKA OTCQX:ILIKF ) View Price & Profile Ilika completes government-backed battery programme with defence and e-bike interest Published: 07:25 10 Sep 2026 BST Ilika PLC (AIM:IKA, OTCQX:ILIKF, FRA:I8A) , the UK developer of solid-state battery technology, said it had successfully completed its grant-supported PRIMED programme to improve the performance of its Goliath 10Ah battery prototypes. The project drew interest from a UK defence agency, which gave positive feedback on the battlefield resilience of the Goliath cells, opening what the company described as ongoing commercial opportunities. Ilika also began a 12-month joint development programme with Brompton, the folding bicycle maker, covering the next generation of foldable e-bikes. The cells underwent independent third-party testing and verification through About:Energy, with the results now available on its cell selection platform, The Voltt. That independent confirmation gives battery pack designers a trusted basis for evaluating the new chemistry before committing design time, rather than relying on data supplied by the manufacturer alone. Technical gains during the programme included higher energy density, better capacity retention at faster charging rates, higher peak power, improved cycle life and greater thermal stability. The programme benefited from strategic guidance by carmaker JLR and Professor Paul Shearing of Oxford University, and ran from August 2025 to a December 2025 release of the optimised cells to automotive and non-automotive partners. During the work, Ilika decided to focus resources on improving the 10Ah prototypes rather than immediately scaling up to a larger 50Ah format. The 12-month, £3 million collaboration was supported by the UK government's £4 billion DRIVE35 programme, delivered by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade alongside the Advanced Propulsion Centre and Innovate UK. Ilika received £1.25 million in grant funding and worked with manufacturing consultancy HSSMI and the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre, which produced a model to support scaling towards gigafactory-level production. Chief executive Graeme Purdy said the 10Ah cell format offered a useful early commercialisation opportunity as the company continued talks with automotive partners ahead of its eventual electric vehicle rollout. Continue reading