Battery startup Aceleron has secured almost 拢1 million in funding from the government.
The company launched its circular economy lithium-ion battery earlier this year.
The 拢927,000 investment will go towards 鈥楶roject BATLAB鈥� as part of the Department for 老九品茶, Energy and Industrial Strategy鈥檚 Energy Entrepreneurs Fund.聽聽
In a bid to boost 鈥榞reen innovation鈥� across the UK and help businesses to reduce their carbon emissions, the government has identified projects that are developing new technologies to increase energy efficiency – including providing cleaner ways to generate power and heat.
The project will see a more sustainable build process for batteries in the UK market, where everything needed for the entire life cycle of the battery, from first life to repurposing will be available in the same environment where it was originally built.聽
The project will also develop the ability to repurpose EV battery packs within the facility. Aspire Engineering, Venture Engineering and University College London will work as collaborative partners to develop the facility.聽聽
鈥淥ne of the key barriers to a sustainable battery is trying to extract more value from it before moving it on to a second life,鈥� said Carlton Cummins (pictured), co-founder and chief technical officer.
鈥淲e want to create a 鈥榗ontainerised facility,鈥� where all the equipment, tooling and components to build, repair, upgrade and, in some cases, monitor every battery arrives and stays in one place.
鈥淭he same equipment will then be available, in its container, for servicing, repairing and eventually deconstructing the battery throughout its entire life cycle. Once the battery has come to the end of its life, the waste can be returned to its origins for repurposing.
鈥淲e still have a lot to learn on the concept but we have the people and the business model ready to develop it into a workable solution that will address the inherent waste of resources in the life cycle of most batteries today.聽聽
鈥淎t a time when the world鈥檚 focus is on energy storage, this funding will enable us to move the battery industry forward and reduce the harmful impact of batteries on the environment.鈥�
Ian Briggs from Aspire Engineering added: 鈥淲e are delighted to be working alongside our customer, Aceleron, and partners on this exciting project.
鈥淲e will be able to showcase our expertise in designing and implementing custom automation to deliver the BATLAB project – which will be supported by our green credentials, providing circular economy solutions to enhance the project deliverables.鈥�