Domestic lithium battery technology development

How is the UK re-working lithium-ion battery production networks?

As demand for electrical energy storage scales, production networks for lithium-ion battery manufacturing are being re-worked organisationally and geographically. The UK - like the US and EU - is seeking to onshore lithium-ion battery production and build a national battery supply chain.

Do solid state batteries use lithium-ion technology?

Although solid state batteries do not use lithium-ion technology, Ilika is part of a broader cell and battery development ecosystem in the UK that harnesses government support (via APC, UKBIC and FBC) and private funding to develop and scale cell and battery technology.

What is the future of lithium batteries?

The elimination of critical minerals (such as cobalt and nickel) from lithium batteries, and new processes that decrease the cost of battery materials such as cathodes, anodes, and electrolytes, are key enablers of future growth in the materials-processing industry.

Is the UK a 'Entrepreneurial State' for lithium-ion batteries?

These gaps reflect limits in the scope and scale of the UK government's efforts to act as an ‘entrepreneurial state’ with regard to lithium-ion batteries, particularly in the context of growing competition from Europe and the US in the wake of the US Inflation Reduction Act.

What makes a strong industrial base for lithium-based batteries?

A robust, secure, domestic industrial base for lithium-based batteries requires access to a reliable supply of raw, refined, and processed material inputs for lithium batteries.

Is the UK a 'global race' for lithium-ion batteries?

The UK too is seeking to onshore global production networks for lithium-ion batteries (LiB) and build a domestic battery supply chain. The UK case is instructive as the geopolitical dynamics of onshoring centre on maintaining the UK's role as an automobile manufacturing platform in the post-Brexit period rather than a general ‘global race’.