TIDMIKA

RNS Number : 2219H

Ilika plc

16 August 2016

Ilika plc

("Ilika" or the "Company")

Grant Award: Protected anodes for lithium sulphur batteries

Ilika (AIM: IKA), a pioneer in materials innovation and solid-state battery technology, announces that it is taking part in a three-year project to develop protected anodes for lithium sulphur batteries, led by Johnson Matthey Plc and supported by Innovate UK and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). GBP365,133 of the grant will be used to fund project activities at Ilika.

Johnson Matthey Plc is a global speciality chemicals company and a leader in sustainable technologies. Using its expertise in chemistry and advanced materials, the company develops a range of high value added, high technology products and services, including high performance battery systems. Other partners in the project are Williams Grand Prix Engineering Ltd, the University of Oxford and the University of Warwick.

This project will develop an innovative protected lithium anode approach, via Ilika's high-throughput materials development technique, to discover new electrolyte composition options and fabricate a free-standing, lithium-containing protected anode/separator for integration into pouch cells. The novel protected anode will mitigate a commonly experienced problem in lithium-sulphur cells, the so-called polysulphide shuttle effect, leading to enhanced performance cells that can be made with existing cell fabrication methods. The pouch cells being developed in this project are high capacity, low cost batteries for large scale renewable energy storage and therefore address a distinct market segment to the Internet of Things (IoT) applications for which Ilika's Stereax(TM) batteries are designed.

Commenting on this grant award, Graeme Purdy, Ilika CEO, said: "This project brings together international leading scientists and industrial partners with the resources, skills and experience to deliver and exploit this new concept. The partners have the know-how to design and develop new battery components and take them through to roll to roll electrode fabrication and pouch cell manufacture and evaluation."

For more information contact:

 
 Ilika plc                                                     www.ilika.com 
 Graeme Purdy, Chief Executive                            Tel: 023 8011 1400 
 Steve Boydell, Finance Director 
 
 Numis Securities Limited                                 Tel: 020 7260 1000 
 Oliver Cardigan/ Paul Gillam 
  / 
 James Black 
 
 Walbrook PR Ltd                   Tel: 020 7933 8780 / ilika@walbrookpr.com 
 Paul Cornelius                                           Mob: 07866 384 707 
 Lianne Cawthorne                                         Mob: 07584 391 303

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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August 16, 2016 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)