A Bristol-based battery tech startup has secured nearly £1.6m in funding from a government grant and private sector investment.
Anaphite said it will use the influx of capital to continue developing its “dry-coating” technology, a method that the startup says can reduce the cost of electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing.
“We are directing all these resources into enabling the step change in battery manufacturing that is dry electrode coating,” said Joe Stevenson, CEO of Anaphite.
“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.”
A “dry” manufacturing process does not require drying ovens. Anaphite claims this can reduce the cost of battery cell manufacturing by up to 40% and reduce the carbon footprint of the process.
The startup uses a blend of powders for the battery coating, including ‘wonder material’ graphene, which is stronger than steel and is a conductor of electricity and heat.
Anaphite is targeting a 2028 commercial rollout into EVs.
The investment is broken down by more than £880,000 from private investors who are previous backers of Anaphite.
The remaining £685,000 came in the form of grant funding through the Investor Partnerships Future Economy programme, which is run by government innovation agency Innovate UK.
Elbow Beach Capital led the private sector investment. The decarbonisation and sustainable energy-focused investor made the investment as an “advanced subscription for Anaphite’s Series A funding round”, which is currently ongoing.
Other backers include Wealth Club – which provided over 50% of funding and has so far invested over £1.4m in Anaphite – along with Bristol Private Equity Club and angel investors.
“We have seen that demand for EVs is price elastic so reducing the cost of vehicles is essential to achieving their widescale rollout,” said Jon Pollock, CEO of Elbow Beach Capital.
“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.”
Anaphite previously raised £4.1m in seed funding in August 2022. Its most recent unaudited accounts, for the year ended 31 December 2022, show losses of £2.5m and total equity of £3.2m.
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