10095172LiNa-Scale: construction of pilot manufacturing plant for solid-state sodium-metal-chloride battery cellsClosedInvestment AcceleratorInnovate UKIn this project, LiNa will construct and operate a pilot production line for the manufacture of its solid-state, sodium-nickel-chloride (NaMCl) cells, delivering a forty-fold increase in manufacturing volumes from a current average of 50 to 2025 cells per week. The unit cost of cells produced in the automated pilot line will be less than one quarter the cost of artisan lab-scale production, confirming the trajectory. The NaMCl chemistry at the core of LiNa's cells is uniquely suited to stationary energy-storage applications due to their inherent safety and stability, low cost, zero side reactions and commercially proven 4,500 cycles to 80% state-of-health?. LiNa's cells are particularly well suited to geographies with high ambient temperatures, where demand is strong and poised for exponential growth. In temperatures above 30°C, lithium-ion battery (LiB) systems are susceptible to performance degradation and require energy-consuming cooling infrastructure. The high operating temperature of LiNa's cells enables our systems to operate with simple balance of plant with no cooling. In August 2023, LiNa agreed terms for a Memorandum of Understanding with a global integrated power company to demonstrate a 10kWh prototype system at Tata's test site in Mumbai India, concluding in February 2024\. The MoU provides that, following a successful demonstration, LiNa and Tata will proceed immediately to joint commercial-scale demonstrations of LiNa's products. The pilot-scale production facility will deliver the cell volumes needed to participate in this and other demonstration projects.. Design of LiNa's automated pilot line was undertaken by Comau (part of Stellantis Group), which has also been reviewed by other external professionals (Halliburton, Lina Emilsson). Premises, permissions and personnel will all be in place by the time the project begins. Cells produced in the pilot line will be tested to ensure quality and performance is at least equal to lab-scale production. A set of project objectives with quantifiable success criteria have been designed to enable straightforward assessment of project progress and yield the data future end-users and investors require. External IP professionals advise that process development in this project will likely create significant, protectable IP, most likely in form of trade secrets and at least one patent. IP management will be part of the commercial exploitation, which will include preparations for follow-on fundraise, and the conclusion of Agreements for the supply of key materials and profitable, commercial-scale demonstrations of LiNa's systems