PRODUCTION is under way of high-performance resources at a factory in Milton Keynes that are set to accelerate the development of the UK’s electric vehicle battery manufacturing industry.
Lithium Iron Phosphate and Lithium Manganese Iron Phosphate cathode active materials are being produced at the Kiln Farm factory of Integrals Power.
The pioneering new plant has gone into full production of up to 20 tonnes a year – the equivalent of 250 electric cars. The material is being assessed by cell suppliers, battery and vehicle manufacturers around the world.
Integrals Power founder and chief executive Behnam Hormozi (main picture) said: “Start of production in our new pilot plant is a key milestone because it enables us to produce our high-performance LFP and LMFP cathode active materials at volume.
“We believe this is one of the first facilities of its kind in the UK and is exactly the kind of state-of-the-art resource the UK battery industry needs in order to support the sustainable future growth of electromobility.”
Developed in-house, Integrals Power has created a modular production facility which can be readily scaled to higher volumes in the future to meet growing customer demand, and also to enable a range of different chemistries to be made.
The process takes place over seven stages, and from raw materials to packaged samples ready for customers takes up to 48 hours.
Integrals Power sources all its raw materials from European and North American suppliers which ensures a purer, higher performance LFP and LMFP cathode materials with greater energy density compared to the Chinese-manufactured cathode materials which currently account for around 90% of production worldwide.
Establishing manufacturing in the UK is also a boost for the domestic battery industry by reducing its carbon footprint, enhancing supply chain security and transparency and mitigating geopolitical issues such as import tariffs on EVs and their components.
Mr Hormozi said: “The flexibility and scalability we have designed into the pilot plant from day one enables us to manufacture different grades of Lithium Iron Phosphate nanomaterials to suit different applications – from long-range electric vehicles through to off-grid energy storage – and to increase capacity to meet demand from customers in the UK and from around the world.”
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