Government Funded Project Aims to Almost Halve Charging Times of Vehicle Batteries

UK – Bold claims are being made by the latest partner to the CELERITAS project, which is focused on the production of high power electrical cells coupled with rapid charging technology. A new initiative being launched this week is expected to almost half the charge times on electric vehicles from 22 minutes to 12 minutes.

AMTE Power, a developer and manufacturer of lithium-ion and sodium-ion battery cells for specialist markets and the only UK battery manufacturer listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, will collaborate with BMW Group and BP, who are expected to join this milestone project.

Currently the best-in-class charging systems take approximately 22 minutes for a 10-80% charge for a 280-mile range. The CELERITAS project is aiming to deliver an 80% charge in just 12 minutes. Reducing charge times has been identified as key to accelerating the widespread switch by consumers to electric vehicles.

The project will be part funded by the UK Government through the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APCUK) which was formed in 2013 as a joint venture between the UK government and the automotive industry and has its headquarters at Warwick University. AMTE Power’s role will be to develop its high power pouch cells into a cylindrical cell format and provide these cells as the rapid charging cell technology that sits at the heart of the system. The grant funding relating to this project was anticipated in the Company’s forecasts for future grant income.

The five other partners involved in project CELERITAS are expected to be: BMW Group, BP, Sprint Power, a British technology company specialising in low carbon technology, Clas-Sic, the dedicated Silicon Carbide Wafer foundry and Eltrium, a designer and manufacturer of electrical harnesses and energy storage systems.

This is the second APCUK funded project AMTE has been selected to be a key partner in. The first, announced in June 2021, is Project ULTRA for which AMTE is the lead supplier. AMTE's purpose-built cell manufacturing facility in Thurso, Scotland has the second largest cell manufacturing capacity in the UK and the Company also has a product development team based in Oxford. Kevin Brundish, Chief Executive Officer of AMTE Power, said:

“A key focus of this project is to target BMW’s future battery specifications and requirements with each partner bringing innovations to the battery platform. It is therefore an excellent opportunity to contribute as well as demonstrate the capabilities of our cell technology to the other partners not just for fast charging but also for fast discharge (acceleration) and ultimately vehicle range.”