Ilika plc (LON:IKA), a pioneer in solid-state battery technology, has announced its unaudited half-year report for the six months ended 31 October 2024.
Graeme Purdy, CEO of Ilika plc, shares in the interview below pivotal updates on the company’s remarkable half-year results for 2025. From the optimisation of Stereax production in collaboration with Cirtech to ground-breaking milestones in the Goliath programme, Purdy outlines how Ilika is cementing its position in solid-state battery innovation. Learn about their expanding customer base, industry-leading safety features, and strategic plans for scaling their next-generation prototypes. Ilika’s lean, focused approach exemplifies how a compact team can deliver transformative advancements in MedTech, EVs, industrial IoT, and beyond.
Commercial Acceleration:
During the period, significant progress has been made with both Ilika’s thin-film StereaxÒ miniature solid- state batteries (SSBs) for powering medical devices and industrial wireless sensors in specialist environments, and its large-format Goliath cells for electric vehicles (EVs) and compact cordless appliances.
Graeme Purdy, CEO of Ilika, said:
“Ilika made significant progress with both our Stereax and Goliath product lines, during the period. On Stereax, we have been working closely with Cirtec, our manufacturing partner, to implement production equipment at their US facility. We are excited by the commercial opportunities in miniature medical devices, building on Cirtec’s established position as a leading strategic outsourcing partner of complex medical devices and, crucially, we expect Stereax product revenues to commence this year.
“We have also made rapid progress with Goliath, successfully delivering against our ambitious technology roadmap and achieving two key milestones in the past six months. Furthermore, we have increased the energy capacity 5x since releasing our first prototypes to customers in the summer of 2024. Our Goliath battery helps EV designers address consumer concerns through its clearly differentiated safety features, enabling cost reduction and increase in range. We look forward to building on the commercial relationships we have established by releasing further prototypes in 2025.”
Stereax (Medical Device Applications)
Substantially completed the installation of Ilika’s key equipment required to manufacture Stereax cells at Cirtec Medical’s expanded cleanroom facility in Lowell, MA, US; cathode manufacturing initially remaining at Ilika’s UK facility as a sub-contract service to Cirtec.
Ongoing cooperation between Ilika and Cirtec to commission equipment and run trial batches of batteries to fully qualify the Stereax manufacturing process.
Progressing with plans for production runs to deliver commercial M300 samples in 2025.
Promoting Stereax, in cooperation with Cirtec, to a growing number of Active Implantable Medical Device (AIMD) applications.
Supporting portfolio of 21 customers with their development plans and launch schedules, capitalising on integration opportunities with Cirtec’s platform technology portfolio.
Goliath (EV Applications)
Commenced commercial testing of 1st generation P1 prototype batteries in a customer-sponsored programme, allowing customers to validate Goliath’s performance characteristics.
Shipped first batch of P1 prototype Goliath batteries to a Tier 1 customer.
Released third-party validated safety data and confirmed achievement of D5 development milestone demonstrating significant improvements relative to commercially available EV batteries, with resulting benefits in vehicle weight, cost and extended range.
Continued execution of the Faraday Battery Challenge, an £8.2m grant-funded HISTORY project to integrate high silicon content electrodes into Goliath, in collaboration with BMW and Fortescue Zero.
Trialled production-intent equipment at vendor sites and at Ilika’s pilot facility.
Continued scale-up supported by Automotive Transformation Fund’s £2.7m grant-supported SiSTEM project, in which Ilika is collaborating with MPac plc, UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) and Tata Sons subsidiary Agratas. This will result in the addition of a 1.5 MWh/a assembly line to Ilika’s automated pilot line capability.
Continued interaction with automotive and consumer appliance customers including original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and Tier 1 suppliers globally, resulting in a pipeline of evaluation agreements with 21 companies.
Financial Summary:
· Total revenue for the period of £1.0m (H1 2023/24: £1.3m), including grant funding of £0.9m (H1 2023/4: £1.3m) and £0.1m relating to Goliath commercial activity (H1 2023/4: £0m)
· EBITDA loss, excluding share-based payments, of £1.9m (H1 2023/24: £1.9m loss)
· Cash & Cash equivalents at period end of £10.1m (H1 2023/24: £13.2m)
· Successful £2.3 million (gross) fundraising to support the Goliath roadmap and Stereax commercialisation.
Post Period End:
Confirmed completion of the Goliath D6 milestone which produced a 10Ah Goliath battery, a 5x increase in capacity relative to its P1 prototypes which were released to customers in summer 2024.
Outlook:
Commence recognition of Stereax product revenues in CY2025, with a signed licensing agreement in place with Cirtec.
Progress Goliath roadmap to the completion of the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) by the end of 2025, after reaching the D7 and D8 development milestones by the end of the HISTORY programme grant in Q1 2025, underpinning licensing opportunities.
Manufacture and test 2nd generation Goliath prototype (P1.5) for customer evaluation by summer 2025. Prototype to be based on the D7 development point, with a capacity of 10Ah, which can be used as a building block of EV battery modules.
Complete the capacity increase of pilot production facility to 1.5 MWh/a enabled by an automated cell assembly line from MPac to accommodate automotive requests for quotation (‘RFQ’) with 3rd generation P2 prototypes by the end of 2025.
Capitalise on commercial interest and government grant support, which is expected to intensify as the Goliath product continues to mature.
Analyst Briefing
The management team will be hosting a hybrid analyst briefing at 9.30am this morning. For futher details analysts should contact: FTI Consulting at [email protected].
Ilika plc is a leader in solid-state battery technology, providing advanced energy solutions for medtech, industrial IoT, EVs, and consumer electronics.
