Solid state sodium battery company LiNa Energy closes out a £3.5m late seed funding round.
LiNa Energy has closed out a £3.5m late seed funding round, attracting a combination of existing and new investors who recognise the vast potential of their game-changing battery technology.
This funding will enable the company to advance their technology through expanding their laboratory facilities, stepping-up recruitment and buying new equipment which will accelerate their commercialisation plan and ultimately when they are market-ready.
LiNa Energy, a spin-out from Lancaster University, established in 2017, is commercialising a safe, cobalt and lithium free solid-state sodium battery.
The innovative design has the potential to greatly exceed both lithium-ion and rest-of-market sodium-ion technologies on all performance measures, and at a cost of less than $50/kWh. It is predicted that, if scaled-up, the LiNa Energy battery could save ~4.5bn tonnes of CO2 per annum by 2050, accelerating global efforts towards net zero.
The funding, alongside recent grant success, gives LiNa Energy a firm foundation upon which to focus on two core activities:
(1) accelerating the technology development by tripling the Lancaster-based laboratory, raising the headcount from 20 to 30 by the end of 2022 and buying additional equipment to improve speed and quality of cell manufacturing processes
(2) and progressing commercialisation activities by securing customer trial partners in primary target markets of stationary energy storage and transport.
Dr Gene Lewis, CEO of LiNa Energy, said:
This investment is a significant step towards achieving our goal to deliver a safe, affordable, mass-production solution to accelerate the two global mega-trends: electrification of transport and decarbonisation of energy.
“For a small yet disruptive technology company like LiNa Energy, this funding is critical. It provides us with a 24-month runway and enables us to push forward our commercialisation plans prior to building a pre-commercial production line in 2023.”
READ the latest Batteries News shaping the battery market
LiNa Energy closes out a £3.5m late seed funding round, October 12, 2021
