The prospect of longer lasting and faster charging mobile phone batteries may have come a step closer after an update from Aim-listed Ilika. The company announced that its process for producing solid-state batteries stacked one on top of the other had successfully been tested and shown to generate an improved performance compared to single cell batteries.
Solid-state batteries are currently commercially available, but are restricted to very small capacities. Ilika's technology is designed to produce larger batteries which could be used for mainstream applications in consumer electronics. Chief executive Graeme Purdy said:
The performance data generated by these laboratory batteries is extremely promising. Once scaled, these solid-state batteries would offer consumers the equivalent of having a longer-lasting smartphone battery half the size of current batteries which can be fully recharged in about 10 minutes rather than an hour.
Dr Tom McColm at Zeus Capital said:
The mass-market commercialisation of solid-state batteries will be a step change in the evolution of battery technology; enabling lighter, safer batteries charging up to six times faster, lasting four times longer with twice the energy density of the highest performance lithium ion incumbents.
Ilika intends to initially produce micro-battery prototypes designed for powering wireless sensors, which is a rapidly growing segment expected to create an addressable market for micro-batteries in excess of £1bn by 2017. The battery architecture will subsequently be scaled-up, using the same process, to produce prototypes suitable for the largest markets for lithium ion batteries in consumer electronics, including mobile phones.
[The] announcement confirms that the stacked cell architecture has the requisite electrochemical voltage and power. This is another key milestone in the commercialisation of solid state batteries in mass markets.
Ilika shares are currently 12% higher at 46p.
