£1.4m backs dry roll-to-roll coating to cut EV electrode emissions
This article covers Anaphite, a Bristol greentech startup, which has raised £1.4m to adapt its dry coating precursor technology for lithium iron phosphate cathodes and graphite anodes. The funding aims to cut energy use and the carbon footprint of electrode production for electric vehicles and to position the startup's process for high-volume cell manufacturing, supporting battery makers and the UK battery supply chain.
Anaphite, a Bristol greentech startup, has raised £1.4 million to adapt its dry coating precursor technology for lithium iron phosphate cathodes and graphite anodes. The funding is aimed at cutting the energy use and carbon footprint of electrode production for electric vehicles, and to position the company’s process for high-volume cell manufacturing.
Why it matters
LFP batteries are expected to account for more than 55 percent of global cathode demand by 2030 because of lower cost and durability, particularly for mainstream vehicle platforms. But electrode manufacturing today is energy intensive and contributes a significant portion of battery cost and emissions. Improvements at the electrode stage can therefore affect the retail economics of EVs and the carbon intensity of the supply chain.
The UK government has identified batteries as a strategic area in its Advanced Manufacturing Plan, so technologies that lower manufacturing cost and emissions feed into national goals around industrial capability and electrification.
Inside the product
Anaphite focuses on a dry coating approach that replaces wet slurry-based electrode production. The company says the process cuts energy use in electrode production by around 30 percent and reduces the carbon footprint of cell manufacturing.
The current project will adapt that dry coating process to LFP cathodes and graphite anodes, using roll-to-roll methods that are compatible with high-volume cell manufacturing. Full cells produced with the dry-coated electrodes will undergo efficiency and cycle-life testing ahead of potential OEM partnerships. Anaphite has previously demonstrated the technique with NMC formulations, which it cites as technical validation that the approach can be translated to other chemistries.
Who are the investors?
Who are the investors?
The £1.4 million round was delivered through the Innovate UK Investor Partnership Programme and matched by investment from Elbow Beach Capital and World Fund. The funding is earmarked to support the adaptation of Anaphite’s dry coating process to LFP and graphite chemistries and to accelerate commercial capabilities for roll-to-roll manufacturing.
In the announcement, Craig Douglas, Partner at World Fund, said:
This investment will enable the company to significantly expand its commercial capabilities, accelerating the scale-up of its manufacturing processes and driving down manufacturing costs for the global battery industry.
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Founder perspective
In the announcement, Joe Stevenson, CEO of Anaphite, said:
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 technology has been successful with NMC formulations, and we’re confident it can be applied to LFP to further boost cost and carbon savings for OEMs.
Stevenson’s comments highlight that translating dry coating from NMC to LFP is a distinct materials engineering challenge. If the company can demonstrate equivalent cycle life and manufacturability, the process could be of practical interest to vehicle makers looking to reduce battery production costs.
The bigger picture
The funding round sits at the intersection of several trends: rapid EV adoption, a shift toward LFP chemistry for cost-sensitive models, and policy efforts in the UK to build domestic battery capability. For manufacturers and OEMs, incremental reductions in manufacturing energy and cost at the electrode stage can translate into more competitive EV pricing.
The deal also reflects growing interest from greentech investors in technologies that address both cost and emissions in battery supply chains. Successful deployment of dry-coated LFP electrodes in the UK would strengthen local manufacturing expertise and offer a route for European cell makers to lower the carbon intensity of production.
The outcome of Anaphite’s tests and any subsequent OEM partnerships will be worth watching as the UK and Europe push to secure more of the battery value chain while driving down emissions from electrified transport.
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