Battery technology company Anaphite has raised £1.6 million in funding.
It consists of £685,000 grant funding via the Investor Partnerships Future Economy programme and more than £880,000 committed by private investors.
The programme was established by Innovate UK to drive investment into high-growth innovative SMEs by aligning private investment with public funding.
In partnership with UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Faraday Battery Challenge, delivered by Innovate UK, the grant will enable Anaphite to accelerate the development of its dry-coating technology to reduce the cost of EV battery manufacturing.
Elbow Beach Capital supported Anaphite in unlocking this grant funding by way of an advanced subscription for Anaphite’s Series A funding round. Also participating in this round was high net worth service Wealth Club, which provided over 50% of the funding. To date Wealth Club has invested over £1.4m in Anaphite.
Fellow investors include Bristol Private Equity Club and angel investors. Elbow Beach Capital first backed Anaphite in 2022, leading the company’s £4.1m seed investment round.
“We are delighted to have supported Anaphite in winning this grant funding which will accelerate the rollout of their technology which is a real enabler for accelerating EV adoption,” said Jon Pollock, CEO of Elbow Beach Capital.
“We have seen that demand for EVs is price elastic so reducing the cost of vehicles is essential to achieving their wide-scale rollout. A transition away from fossil fuel-powered transport is critical to achieving net zero but policy and regulation changes risk being regressive if there are not accessible, affordable options for consumers, particularly at a time of cost-of-living challenges.
“This makes technology like Anaphite’s critical to a fair transition and a very compelling investment for us.”
Typically, batteries account for up to 30% of an EV’s total cost. Reducing the cost of battery manufacturing is an essential step in reducing the price point of EVs and increasing their accessibility for consumers.
For EVs to be more sustainable, changes to the battery manufacturing process are needed to reduce the amount of energy required. The industry is now looking to move to new ‘dry’ processes which remove the need for the use of cathode drying ovens and reduce energy requirements for the electrode manufacturing step by up to 90%, reducing the carbon footprint of battery production, whilst also avoiding the use of harmful solvents. Large automotive manufacturers such as Volkswagen have described the dry coating process as a ‘game changer’ for the industry.
Anaphite’s chemistry-based approach produces fully formulated ‘Dry Coating Precursor powders’ that enable the dry coating process. These powders are tailor-formulated to customer specifications, the company says, enabling the best battery formulations to be made using dry processes safely, without compromising product performance.
Anaphite is working with several major automotive, battery cell manufacturers and electrode materials suppliers to further develop its technology and optimise it for individual customer requirements.
The project will be guided by an industrial advisory board to provide feedback on performance targets at electrode and cell level, improving the robustness of Anaphite’s processes.
Anaphite, in the process of raising a Series A investment round, is aiming for its technology to be rolled out into commercial EVs in 2028.
CEO Joe Stevenson said: “Anaphite has built a very strong IP position and expert teams working in electrochemistry, process chemistry and chemical engineering.
“We are directing all these resources into enabling the step change in battery manufacturing that is dry electrode coating. We’ve made this choice because of the double impact of reducing the energy needed to make EVs and of increasing the uptake of EVs by reducing their cost.
“Our customers are excited by the cathode performance improvements and ease of processing using Anaphite’s composite materials. We are now working alongside our customers to tailor our formulations for their dry coating processes.
“We have a clear path to establishing a very valuable business.”
Gayle Bowen, Wealth Club director and head of direct investments, commented: “Anaphite is an ambitious cleantech with a well thought through plan and experienced, skilled team. Having delivered on its early milestones our investors were keen to continue supporting the company.”