The University of Southampton has received a £3.3m ($5m) award for the development and manufacture of advanced composite materials after its spin-out, Ilika, wins the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s (EPSRC) advanced materials competition.
The grant money will be used for the development of solid-state batteries, allowing research conducted by Ilika into the devices to be applied on a larger scale with the ultimate objective of tech transfer into full-scale manufacturing processes.
Ilika spun-out from the University in 2004, and maintains close ties with its parent, which has an 8% stake in the cleantech firm.
Graeme Purdy, chief executive of Ilika, said: “The award of this grant provides the University, Ilika and the UK with a unique scale-up facility with the ability to translate lab-scale innovation into prototype devices capable of generating significant commercial impact.”
