Anaphite, a battery technology company based in Bristol, has raised €1.6 million in a Series A follow-on funding round managed through the Innovate UK Investor Partnership Programme. Half of the financing stems from Innovate UK’s Clean Energy and Climate Technologies competition, while the remainder comes from climate-focused venture capital funds Elbow Beach and World Fund. The investment will enable Anaphite to extend its Dry Coating Precursor (DCP®) technology platform from nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) cathodes to lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathodes and graphite anodes.
LFP cathodes have gained traction in electric vehicles due to their cost advantages and enhanced safety profile, despite offering lower energy density than NMC materials. Producing LFP cathodes, however, typically consumes more than twice the energy per kilowatt-hour of cell output compared with medium-to-high nickel NMC. Material mixing and electrode coating represent roughly 30–40% of total cell manufacturing energy use and cost, making process improvements critical for reducing both expenses and carbon emissions.
With LFP expected to comprise over 55% of global cathode demand by 2030, there is growing urgency for scalable, high-yield dry coating processes. To date, no commercial solution for LFP dry coating has been proven at scale. Anaphite plans to leverage its DCP® platform—which uses proprietary chemical compositing techniques to attach binders and conductive carbons onto active material particles—to create uniform dry composite powders suited for LFP formulations.
Anaphite’s CEO Joe Stevenson says: “We’re thrilled to have secured this grant support from Innovate UK and the matching investment from Elbow Beach, World Fund and other Anaphite investors. This enables us to attack one of the toughest technical challenges in dry coating – successfully manufacturing LFP electrodes. Once achieved at scale, it will be enormously valuable to the industry. Anaphite’s DCP® technology has been successful with NMC dry coating formulations, and we’re confident it can be applied to LFP, to further boost the cost and carbon emission savings for OEMs.”
One key obstacle is the fine particle size of fourth-generation LFP (0.7–3 microns versus 3–20 microns for NMC), which increases surface area and complicates uniform mixing and film formation. Craig Douglas, partner at World Fund, added that the investment “will accelerate Anaphite’s commercial capabilities, helping drive down battery manufacturing costs globally.”
The project’s milestones include roll-to-roll production of dry-coated LFP cathodes and graphite anodes, followed by full cell assembly and testing to confirm first-cycle efficiency and cycle life. Success would expand dry coating across mass-market electrode chemistries and support collaborative efforts with OEMs aiming to lower manufacturing cost and environmental impact. The initiative aligns with the UK government’s Advanced Manufacturing Plan and the anticipated growth of Britain’s battery energy storage system sector.
Source: EU-Startups
