Ilika Plc (LON:IKA) is the topic of conversation when Dr Tom McColm a clean-tech equity specialist and Partner at Baden Hill joins DirectorsTalk. Tom talks about the transition from a materials development company to an organisation focussed on solid state batteries, looks at which is most promising between medical and industrial opportunities, which parameters in from recent breakthroughs will have the biggest commercial impact and Toms thoughts on which part of the Stereax portfolio will get to market first.
Adam Collins Equity Research Analyst, Battery Materials, specialty chemicals, New Energy at Liberum also joined DirectorsTalk to discuss Ilika plc. Adam talks about the strong progress the company has made over the last 6 months, explains which of the Stereax deployment projects he is most excited about, the competitive edge Ilika has with its Goliath batteries, the most valuable parts of the portfolio and what he is most looking forward to over the next 6 months.
Operational Highlights
· Advanced Stereax solid-state battery deployments with a cumulative 90 potential OEM partners, including 14 where batteries have been shipped for evaluation
· Continued to execute three Stereax development and deployment partnerships:
o Miniaturisation of Stereax technology for integration into medical implants
o Integration of Stereax cells with a photovoltaic energy harvester from Lightricity (ex-Sharp Labs of Europe)
o Deployment of Stereax M250 cells with piezoelectric vibration harvesters and strain gauges for condition monitoring of wind turbine blades manufactured by Titan Wind Energy, China’s largest wind turbine manufacturer
· Secured £4.1m non-dilutive grant funding from Innovate UK’s Faraday Battery Challenge competition to develop large format “Goliath” cells in collaboration with automotive partners including Ricardo, Honda and McLaren for electric vehicle applications
· Shipped pre-launch samples of Ilika’s millimetre-scale “Golden Hind” Stereax batteries to OEM commercial partners in the USA and Asia
· Appointed Jeremy Millard as NED, replacing Professor Sir William Wakeham who retired
Post-period end Highlights
· Successfully improved the power density and technical performance of Stereax M250 cells
· Partnered with Semefab Ltd for the manufacture of Stereax cells
· Secured the annual recertification of Ilika’s Quality Management System to ISO9001
· Appointed Keith Jackson as Non-Executive Chairman
· Formed the Technology Advisory Board
· Appointed Dr. Monika Biddulph as a Non-Executive Director
Financial Summary
· Total revenue for the period £1.0m (H1 2017: £1.0m)
· Loss per share reduced to 1p (H1 2017: 2p per share)
· Equity placing raised £4.1m
· Cash balance at period end £5.8m (H1 2017: £3.9m)