UK Research and Innovation has launched a new £1.5million competition to support UK small medium sized enterprises (SMEs) working in the battery sector.
The competition provides SMEs with the opportunity to work with the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC), created to provide UK battery manufacturing scale-up and skills for the battery sector.
The competition is open to UK SMEs focused on complete battery cell development projects, including mixing and coating, calendering and slitting, through to cell assembly, formation and ageing.; and proving electrode manufacturing at scale, including mixing and coating, calendering and slitting.
Dr Vishal Nayar, Business Development Manager, at the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre, said: “Developing a home-grown cell supply chain is critical to the growth of the UKs battery industry and the cornerstone of building an ecosystem which can support the establishment of gigafactories in the UK.
“This competition will help bridge the gap for those companies who wish to get on the scale-up ladder.
Oyebola Bello, Programme Manager at the Faraday Battery Challenge, added: “We know the leap to manufacturing scale-up can be tricky for SMEs and we wanted to be able to help them make the transition. Our £1.5 million competition is designed to do exactly that.
“By giving SMEs working in the battery industry the opportunity to use the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre’s state-of-the-art facilities at a reduced cost, we hope to develop UK battery innovations that may not otherwise get a chance. We’re supporting that move from technological potential towards commercial capability.”
SMEs wishing to be considered for the competition should register their interest and be available for an online briefing on 16 February. Click to https://web-eur.cvent.com/event/17ed1dec-cc1a-4f1b-b8d9-5f5d908e44b1/summary. The competition opens on 21 February and closes for entries on 4 April. If you wish to participate in the competition, please contact UKBIC at sales@ukbic.co.uk
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For photography or to arrange an interview, please email richard.robinson@ukbic.co.uk or phone +44 (0) 7503 628892
Notes to editor:
The UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) is the UK’s national manufacturing battery development facility, where businesses can develop their battery manufacturing processes at the scale they need to move to industrial production.
Opened in July 2021 by the then British Prime Minister, the £130 million Coventry-based facility which opened three years ahead of its nearest European competition, provides the link between battery research and successful mass production.
Based in Coventry, the publicly-funded battery product development facility welcomes manufacturers, entrepreneurs, researchers and educators, and can be accessed by any organisation with existing or new battery technology – if that technology will bring green jobs and prosperity to the UK.
The pioneering facility is a key part of the UK Government funded Faraday Battery Challenge, which has been delivered by Innovate UK on behalf of UK Research and Innovation, with the aim of building a high-tech, high-value, high-skill battery industry in the UK.
In addition to funding from the Faraday Battery Challenge through UK Research and Innovation, UKBIC’s completion was part-funded through the West Midlands Combined Authority. The facility was delivered through a consortium of Coventry City Council, Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership and WMG, at the University of Warwick. UKBIC was created in 2018 following a competition led by the Advanced Propulsion Centre with support from Innovate UK.
About UK Research and Innovation
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is the largest public funder of research and innovation in the UK, with a budget of around £8bn. It is composed of seven disciplinary research councils, Innovate UK and Research England.
We operate across the whole country and work with our many partners in higher education, research organisations businesses, government, and charities.
Our vision is for an outstanding research and innovation system in the UK that gives everyone the opportunity to contribute and to benefit, enriching lives locally, nationally and internationally.
Our mission is to convene, catalyse and invest in close collaboration with others to build a thriving, inclusive research and innovation system that connects discovery to prosperity and public good.
www.ukri.org