Scaling UK cathode materials towards commercial battery manufacturing
An Industry Sprint between University College London and battery materials start-up Redoxion has successfully demonstrated the performance of Redoxion’s LFP cathode materials in pouch cells, helping accelerate the company’s pathway towards commercial production and strengthening the UK’s domestic battery materials capability.
The project combined Redoxion’s novel cathode synthesis technology with UCL’s newly established battery manufacturing facilities at UCL East, enabling the team to move beyond laboratory-scale testing and evaluate performance at a scale more representative of real-world applications.
Scaling a UK cathode technology beyond the laboratory
Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries have seen a resurgence in recent years due to their low cost, safety characteristics, and avoidance of critical materials such as nickel and cobalt. LFP is now used in 40% of new electric vehicles globally and 90% of new stationary energy storage sites (Volta Foundation, 2025).
Despite growing demand, the global production of LFP cathode materials remains heavily concentrated in China. Given this exposure, developing a competitive domestic supply chain for cathode active materials is now a critical enabler of the UK’s battery manufacturing ambitions.
Redoxion is a London-based battery materials start-up founded in 2023 by CEO Dr Jerry Barker. The company is developing cost-effective and sustainable manufacturing processes for lithium cathode active materials. Previously working with partners including US battery innovator 24M Technologies and UK net-zero technology venture builder Prosemino, Redoxion is seeking to establish a UK-based supply chain for these critical battery materials.
To support this ambition, the company has developed a proprietary one-step synthesis process for manufacturing LFP and LMFP cathode materials using precursor materials sourced outside Chinese supply chains.
Dr Ethan Williams, Battery Materials Scientist at Redoxion, explained:
We had been able to demonstrate promising performance at laboratory scale, but to gain confidence from investors and potential customers we needed to show that the materials could perform in larger cells manufactured using industrially relevant processes.”
This was the aim of the Faraday Institution Industry Sprint.
| By the numbers | |
|---|---|
| 1-2 kg | LFP material supplied to UCL by Redoxion |
| ~5 metres | of electrode coated |
| ~30 | pouch cells manufactured |
| 40-65 mAh | pouch cell capacity |
| 1,000 | cycles demonstrated |
One of the LFP-Graphite pouch cells that was tested during the project.
From left to right: Will Richardson (Faraday Institution), James Robinson (UCL), Jerry Barker (Redoxion), Ian Ellerington (Faraday Institution), Will Dawson (UCL) and Ethan Williams (Redoxion).
Bringing together start-up innovation and academic capability
Visit to UCL East facility by Faraday Institution head quarters.
The project utilised UCL East’s newly commissioned battery manufacturing facilities, including a roll-to-roll electrode coater, dry room, pouch cell assembly capability and advanced materials characterisation equipment. For Redoxion, these facilities provided capabilities that would otherwise be difficult and costly for a start-up to access.
The collaboration benefited from the geographical proximity of the two organisations. Redoxion’s team was able to work closely alongside UCL researchers, enabling rapid problem-solving and continuous feedback between material synthesis, electrode manufacturing and cell testing.
Associate Professor James Robinson, UCL, said:
It was a genuine collaboration. Ethan and the UCL researchers were working side-by-side in the laboratory, solving challenges together and adapting the programme as the company’s priorities evolved.”
Demonstrating performance at commercially relevant scale
A major milestone was the successful use of UCL East’s roll-to-roll coater to manufacture electrodes incorporating Redoxion’s cathode materials. The project represented one of the first industrial collaborations to utilise the newly installed facility.
In collaboration with WMG, Redoxion scaled up its LFP material synthesis, supplying around 1–2 kg of LFP material for processing, which produced approximately 5 metres of coated electrode.
The team manufactured around 30 pouch cells, alongside coin and Swagelok half-cells used to optimise cell balancing before full-cell assembly. The pouch cells, with capacities of 40–65 mAh, were benchmarked against commercial LFP materials using metrics including capacity, rate performance and degradation. The pouch cells successfully completed 1,000 charge-discharge cycles, demonstrating that Redoxion’s materials delivered equivalent – and in some cases improved – performance compared with best-in-class international competitors.
Rate performance of LFP-Graphite pouch full cells using Redoxion (blue) and commercial (red) material in aqueous processed cathode coatings, cycled between 3.65 – 2.5 V.
Alongside electrochemical testing, the project provided extensive materials characterisation using scanning electron microscopy, particle size analysis and surface area measurements. These data helped validate the materials’ properties and provided additional confidence in the scalability of the manufacturing process.
The work also generated results that have informed Redoxion’s ongoing engagement with investors and prospective customers.
Williams highlights:
Results generated through the Sprint were fed directly into investor discussions and customer conversations. They provided independent validation of our technology and helped demonstrate the progress we have made.”
Cycle performance of LFP-Graphite pouch full cells using Redoxion (blue) and commercial (red) material in aqueous processed cathode coatings, cycled between 3.65 – 2.5 V.
Building confidence in a future UK cathode supply chain
The Sprint has helped move Redoxion’s technology closer to commercial deployment while simultaneously demonstrating the value of university’s battery scale-up facilities as part of the UK battery ecosystem.
For Redoxion, the project provided independent evidence that its UK-developed cathode materials can compete with internationally established alternatives. The findings support the company’s ambition to establish a domestic source of LFP cathode materials for the growing UK battery sector. Having recently completed its seed funding round, this will allow the company to develop its proprietary volume manufacturing processes for the synthesis of battery grade LFP and LMFP powders ready for industry trials and adoption.
For UCL, the project demonstrated the importance of operating battery manufacturing facilities at an industry-relevant scale.
Associate Professor James Robinson explains:
Working at industrially relevant scales provides insights that are essential for translating laboratory research into real-world battery manufacturing.”
The collaboration has also laid the foundations for Redoxion’s future work, including further development of its next-generation LMFP materials and continued exploration of scalable battery manufacturing approaches.
As the UK seeks to establish resilient battery supply chains and increase domestic manufacturing capability, projects such as this demonstrate how close collaboration between innovative start-ups and university researchers can accelerate technology development and commercialisation.
Case study published July 2026.