Investment needed now in key transformative battery system innovations

 UK automotive industry and its supporting supply chain need investment now into key transformative innovations

• New APC report unlocks seven key innovation themes needed to support continued and timely transition to mass adoption of battery electric vehicles
• Puts the spotlight on battery system innovations for the UK’s transition to battery electric vehicles
• Report also highlights how strategic collaboration across industry, government, and academia can accelerate commercialisation

04 June 2025 – It’s a pivotal time for the UK’s automotive industry, as the timeline for transitioning to zero-emission vehicles continues to gain momentum, and with it a sense of urgency to overcome barriers to mainstream ownership of electric vehicles, such as range, charging capabilities, and affordability.

On behalf of the Automotive Council UK, the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) is today launching its latest Innovation Opportunities report. Building on the key trends and drivers identified by the Automotive Council’s Technology Roadmaps, APC’s ‘Industry challenges and Innovation Opportunities’ reports examine key technology priorities and associated supply-chain opportunities for the UK automotive industry.

With the focus on Electrical Energy Storage (EES), this report puts the spotlight firmly on key innovations needed for batteries and the supporting industry supply chain over the next 15 years to secure the UK’s automotive manufacturing sector and deliver reliable, robust electric vehicles to consumers.

The report release coincides with the Battery Show Europe event in Stuttgart from 3 to 5 June. It is the third and final instalment of the Electrical Energy Storage (EES) Roadmap released in September 2024. While the roadmap and its supporting narrative document looked at the future pathways for automotive batteries, this latest report focuses entirely on the innovations required to deliver that pathway. Some of the themes highlighted for priority focussed innovation include software digitalisation, battery chemistries, and recycling to ensure robust performance, addressing range and long-term sustainability concerns, and in-use monitoring via an effective battery management system, enabling efficiencies and ongoing improvements to batteries.

Julian Hetherington, Automotive Transformation Director at the APC, commented:

Developing the UK’s battery sector has been identified as a strategic priority, as outlined in the Department for Business and Trade’s (DBT) UK Battery Strategy 2023, and, in line with this, the sector capability has undergone significant growth in past years, which has been supported by both committed government-funding and commercial investment from industry.

However, more must be done if we are to deliver a successful transition. The purpose of this report is to drill down into what we now need to focus on to ensure the UK maintains momentum and delivers innovations that positively address perceived barriers to the wider adoption of batteries.

Four themes categorised in the report are: affordability, range improvement, fast-charging, and life cycle impact.

A total of seven categories within the four themes are identified in the report as being important for the UK, specifically to accelerate improvements in automotive battery capabilities. Covering the end-to-end value chain of the battery ecosystem, they include:

• battery material recycling,
• software for in-use monitoring,
• Si-blended anodes,
• LMFP cathodes,
• dry-cell manufacturing processes,
• manufacturing equipment and digitalisation, and
• hybrid / semi-solid-state batteries.

Dr Hadi Moztarzadeh, the APC’s Head of Technology Trends adds:

In total, throughout the EES Innovation Opportunities work we identified 120 innovations needed in the battery sector, aligning with the trends and drivers identified on the EES roadmap 2024. This has been an intensive piece of work to assess and analyse these in terms of understanding what innovations will have the most impact in overcoming existing barriers and where they lie in terms of priority for commercial development.

The aim of the report is to provide a definitive guide for government, academia, and industry to align focus, policy-making, and investment. By directing our collective efforts, we can secure the UK’s leadership in the global clean-mobility revolution.

The EES Innovation Opportunities Report offers a comprehensive yet streamlined look at innovation needed, with a clear pointer to each innovation’s significance in terms of opportunity to the UK, and the ease of implementation if timely investment is made.

The APC is the organisation tasked by the UK government and the automotive industry to accelerate the transition to zero-emission transport solutions. It uses its unique knowledge gained from working closely with the global automotive industry to provide insight and forecasting to support the government with strategic policy decisions and provide clarity to the industry about projected demand and technology roadmaps.

Read the Electrical Energy Storage Innovation Opportunities Report

For an in-depth look at future battery developments for the automotive industry to 2040, see the APC’s Electrical Energy Storage Roadmap.