Amte Power confirmed as partner on EV charging system project

Lithium- and sodium-ion battery cell manufacturer Amte Power has been confirmed as a partner in the new UK government-funded project ‘Celeritas’, it announced on Thursday, to develop ultra-fast charging systems for electric vehicles.

The AIM-traded firm said the current best-in-class charging systems took about 22 minutes for a 10% to 80% charge, for a 280-mile range.

It said the Celeritas project was aiming to deliver an 80% charge in 12 minutes, with reducing charge times having been identified as key to accelerating the widespread switch by consumers to electric vehicles.

The project was being part-funded by the UK government, through the ‘Advanced Propulsion Centre UK’ (APCUK).

Amte said its role would be to develop its high-power pouch cells into a cylindrical cell format and provide those cells as the rapid charging cell technology that sat at the heart of the system.

The grant funding relating to the project was expected in the company's forecasts for future grant income.

It said the five other partners involved in the project were expected to be BMW Group, BP, Sprint Power, Clas-Sic, and Eltrium.

The company noted it was the second APCUK-funded project it had been selected to be a key partner in, with the first, announced in June, being ‘Project Ultra’, for which Amte was the lead supplier.

“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,” said chief executive officer Kevin Brundish.

“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.”

At 1258 GMT, shares in Amte Power were up 4.59% at 148p.