Ilika Share Discussion Threads

[a.fewbob] 24/9/2019 07:43

The Goliath project isn’t just pie in the Sky, it’s only a matter of time before we see a working prototype!

And it really doesn’t need to be car battery size at this stage to set this stock on fire!

[a.fewbob] 24/9/2019 07:38

How much did we bet on it???

AWSOME!!!!!

[horneblower] 18/9/2019 23:48

A.F
Don't bet on it.
The government proffered a small sum (a few tens of millions of pounds of our hard-earned taxes) in the vain hope that British industry will come up with world-leading battery solutions.
Grant-chasers all over the country bid for a share of that money.
Ilika might seem a natural home for those funds...at least to a civil servant...and they were awarded a share.
Do the plucky chaps at Ilika have a hope against the big boys at Google, Amazon, Tesla, Toyota, Panasonic, etc?
I don't need to answer that question.
Have a look at Varta, a german battery maker, quoted on LSE. They actually make and sell batteries for a profit.

[a.fewbob] 18/9/2019 20:29

I’d love to know what progress they have made in terms of R&D with the Goliath battery.

It’s at the very least safe to assume they have a concept. Maybe even more than one...

I can’t wait for them to announce a prototype!

[horneblower] 17/9/2019 22:47

Sadly, miles away.

[a.fewbob] 17/9/2019 21:33

And of course hearing aids too, my dads constantly changing his batteries fir those things!!

[a.fewbob] 17/9/2019 21:32

Sorry not I pods, was thinking of ear pods!!

They must need tiny batteries, and I bet require constant charging.

I wander how far off Ilika batteries are from that kind of market???

[swiss paul] 12/9/2019 20:25

Nomad - yep and my battery is still good and lasts me for days - no constant charging every couple of hours

[global nomad] 11/9/2019 09:18

ipods are so 2012....

[horneblower] 11/9/2019 09:15

swiss paul.
I agree. I do feel that this (the original) side has been sidelined.
Bare in mind that they do this as a service to industry so cannot charge too much for it.
I have always felt they should be doing some original, blue-sky work on materials discovery off their own bat...but that also costs money and is financially risky. The execs have to be paid first!

[a.fewbob] 10/9/2019 22:30

I phone I Pods???

[global nomad] 10/9/2019 20:37

i think a lot of sensors are hard wired because there is no alternative. I think the quantity of sensors in buildings, vehicles and everything else will grow exponentially when a realistic alternative is available, %G will be everywhere and it will change everything. Ilika is well positioned with the tiny batteries.

sensors, micro data, drones, autonomous vehicles etc are already showing their worth in agriculture where there are more defined parameters.

[a.fewbob] 10/9/2019 20:10

In my view, it depends on whether they keep the rights on the IP.

[swiss paul] 10/9/2019 20:02

Everyone seems to bw fixated on batteries what about the materials innovation. Yes I understand that batteries (if done correctly) may be the road to riches but sometimes its the other slow moving opportunities that produce the value over the long term.

[a.fewbob] 10/9/2019 12:47

Reading between the lines it seems as though the technical challenge they have is developing a method of manufacturing to make their tech cost effective.

[a.fewbob] 10/9/2019 12:43

Cheers Hornblower,

Yep, not an easy nit to crack!

Internet of things will certainly give them a giant market when it really gathers steam but in the meantime, 5g not required for car and industrial sensors. Modern cars require loads of sensors and they are all hard wired at the moment. No 5G required for those.

And obviously the medical applications seem like a nice niche market for them too while they wait.

[horneblower] 10/9/2019 09:37

I admire your optimism.

I have a five-year roadmap of theirs from 2014 which shows them big in automotive batteries in 2018. Of course, roadmaps are always over-optimistic but the fact is, their technology got stuck almost straight away because they thought that in-chip multi-stacking would be easy. They even hinted they had cracked it a couple of years ago but for whatever reason they have not progressed from the ultra-small.

There's nothing wrong with their current battery range but until full connectivity and 100% 5g coverage arrives the market will remain small and specialised.

Yes, Tesla's big car batteries are made up of thousands of little batteries but even those little batteries are hundred's of times more powerful than Ilika's offering.

Solid state Li-ion batteries offer loads of advantages...except size.

Good luck all.

[global nomad] 10/9/2019 08:05

holding here for the future, ( and already seems like a long past too) battery tech and charging are now so critical and gaining a lot of attention that I hope Ilika will not let their advantage slip.

Good news today with further funding, opening share price reaction not what I expected though...

[a.fewbob] 09/9/2019 22:47

I’m pretty sure that I have seen an ILIKA road map from concept to production for their battery tech where they show the timescale for the development of the micro batteries which are now basically market ready and have similar plans for their larger battery projects.

So at least they seem confident!!

We will see.

[a.fewbob] 09/9/2019 22:41

Hi,

Yes I’m aware of the current tech. Small yes, but still very useful I think.

Lots of very useful traits, high and low temp range, fast charging, long life etc etc

I’m sure it has a market.

Their Goliath project is active, but we have no idea how successful. You can bet they are working on some interesting stuff. And they have had automotive partners.
The fact that they advertise the fact that they are and have been working on the tech for a number of years means that they could at any time unveil something market sensitive on that front.

It’s a gamble, but the rewards could be massive.

Don’t forget that current EV tech is just based on small batteries all stacked together!!

Which I guess could mean that if they come up with a cheap mobile phone size battery they not only could have the EV market to supply but everything else too.

I guess this isn’t the sort of company you would watch. Either you take a punt or you don’t. I doubt you’d get a chance to buy at a reasonable price if you waited for them to announce a prototype mobile phone or car battery!!

[horneblower] 09/9/2019 22:30

I'm afraid not. It's still Lithium-Ion.

They developed a solid state battery three years ago and have tweaked it since so that the power density is higher (same output, smaller footprint).
However, the power output is puny; barely enough to drive a bluetooth transmitter.

As far as I can tell, their "Goliath" program is, shall we say, a drawing-board project. There is nothing in their publications or website to suggest they have managed to make anything larger than the last Stearax battery.

The power needed for EV's is literally millions of times greater than what they've achieved to date.

I hope I'm wrong but the current MD's ambition is mainly to keep the government grants coming in. He seems to be quite good at that but don't expect sales or profits to ensue. That's not what Ilika is about.

[a.fewbob] 09/9/2019 21:59

The large scale batteries is a different tech isn’t it???

They are certainly pushing the big solid state battery tech on their web site.

[kenbos] 09/9/2019 21:45

I'm thinking similar now but not heavily invested so may just leave it for the time being

[horneblower] 09/9/2019 09:19

I fear the dream of large capacity solid state batteries from this company is, sadly, still just a dream.

Despite early (three years ago) optimism and enthusiasm when the place was run by scientists they have not been able to crack the problem of upscaling their tiny cells to anything worth the candle.

I don't know exactly why this is. It seems they are unable to internally stack the cells to make a "pile" as the french call it.

Now the place is run by accountants, the scientists are not heard from, and the company is run on the basis of cash generation from government grants...ie it is dead.

[kenbos] 09/9/2019 08:46

I'm invested here losing I might add prepared to wait but I must admit it's very quiet board and not much from the company