UK battery technology company Integrals Power has secured government funding to take a major step toward scaling up domestic production of LFP and LMFP cathode materials.
The funding, awarded through the UK government’s DRIVE35 Scale-up Feasibility Studies competition and supported by the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC), will back Project CATMAN.
The programme will assess the commercial viability of expanding UK manufacturing of Integrals Power’s proprietary Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) and manganese-rich Lithium Manganese Iron Phosphate (LMFP) cathode active materials.
LMFP is designed to build on the strengths of conventional LFP by offering around 20% higher energy density, while preserving the safety, long cycle life and cost advantages that make LFP attractive in the first place.
With an 80% manganese content, the material also avoids the cobalt and nickel used in competing Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) chemistries.
Project CATMAN will help de-risk the company’s scale-up path, moving from its existing 20 tonne-per-year UK pilot line to a 100 tonne-per-year demonstration facility, with engineering plans already aimed at a future 1,000 tonne-per-year commercial plant.
Integrals Power says the project comes at an important time, as the UK and Europe look to strengthen supply chain resilience for advanced battery materials amid rising restrictions on Chinese exports of battery technologies and materials.
The company’s LMFP material has already shown strong results in independent testing by QinetiQ, while cold-temperature testing at Cranfield University has also highlighted its performance advantages.
Integrals Power will now use the feasibility study to validate manufacturing at scale and engage with automotive, marine and defence customers on requirements for larger cell formats, including pouch and cylindrical designs.
The wider policy backdrop is also driving urgency. With EU Battery Passports due from 2027 and tougher UK-EU rules of origin requirements for EV batteries also set to take effect, localised supply chains are becoming not just a competitive advantage, but a commercial necessity.
Leadership Comment
Integrals Power Founder and CEO, Behnam Hormozi, said: “Securing this funding from the APC is an important milestone for Integrals Power and for the UK’s battery supply chain. Project CATMAN will give us the detailed technical and commercial evidence we need to move confidently to the next stage of scale-up, and to unlock the investment required to build a 1,000 tonne per year facility in the UK.
“Our LMFP material has already proven itself in independent testing by QinetiQ – now we need to prove the manufacturing process at scale, and that is exactly what this programme will deliver. The UK has a genuine opportunity to establish manufacturing for these strategically important cell chemistries outside of China, and this funding is a critical step in enabling that to happen.”
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