Ilika Plc Regulatory News (IKA)

Ilika plc

("Ilika" or the "Company")

Official opening of the pilot line & trading update

Ilika (AIM: IKA), the accelerated materials innovation company, announces that The Rt Hon Greg Clark MP officially opened the pilot line for the production of prototype solid-state batteries in Southampton yesterday and a trading update for the six months ended 31 October 2014.

Official opening of the solid-state battery pilot line

On the 23 September 2014 the Company announced that the solid-state battery pilot line had successfully completed its Factory Acceptance Test ('FAT'). Having completed the FAT, the equipment was then unassembled, packed and shipped to Southampton.

Yesterday, The Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, Minister for Universities, Science and Cities, officially opened the pilot line for the production of prototype solid state batteries in Southampton. The pilot line is now going through a series of Site Acceptance Tests ('SAT'), designed to ensure the equipment achieves deposition rates for specified materials required for solid-state battery production. The SAT is expected to be completed during the current calendar year, after which pre-production batches of solid-state batteries will be prepared for evaluation by commercial partners in 2015. 

In July 2013, the Company announced it had entered into an industrial partnership with the University of Southampton to design, build and operate a solid-state battery scale-up facility. The capital investment was funded by a £3.3 million grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council ('EPSRC') and a further infrastructure investment of £750,000 by the University. The capital investment is being managed by Ilika's Chief Scientific Officer, Professor Brian Hayden. Ilika supplied an expert team to design the equipment and supervise its installation and operation.

Trading update

Financial results for the six months ended 31 October 2014 are expected to show total revenue for the period of £0.6m (H1 2013: £0.6m) resulting in an operating loss for the period of £1.6m (H1 2013: £1.5m). Cash and cash equivalents at the period end were £7.2m (H1 2013: £1.4m).

The Company will announce Interim Results for the six months ended 31 October 2014 on Thursday 22 January 2015.

Graeme Purdy, CEO of Ilika, commented: "Commercial interest in this pilot line continues to increase as its operational readiness accelerates. We are looking forward to announcing the successful completion of the SAT and the commencement of production of batches of Ilika's unique solid-state batteries. We have exciting plans for deploying this technology to address substantial commercial markets and it is gratifying to see high profile Ministerial support for our activities." 

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