Kodiaq raises £850k from angel investors to pilot metal-free electrolytes for long-duration battery storage
This article covers Kodiaq Technologies, an energy startup spun out of the University of Cambridge, which has raised £850,000 pre-seed funding from more than twenty high-net-worth to advance a UK-developed, metal-free approach to long-duration energy storage. The funding is intended to move the startup from laboratory validation towards pilot projects and a larger commercial round in mid-2026, supporting efforts to retrofit and scale flow battery capacity and to advance the UK cleantech ecosystem.
Kodiaq Technologies, an energy startup spun out of the University of Cambridge, has raised £850,000 from more than twenty angel investor backers to advance a UK-developed, metal-free approach to long-duration energy storage. The funding is aimed at moving the company from lab validation towards pilot projects and a larger commercial round in mid-2026 — a step that could affect how operators retrofit and scale flow battery capacity without relying on mined metals.
Why it matters
Long-duration storage is a bottleneck for integrating large amounts of wind and solar onto grids and for powering energy-intensive uses such as data centres. Kodiaq’s organic electrolytes aim to raise energy density in flow batteries, which could lower the capital cost per unit of stored energy and reduce dependence on materials such as lithium and vanadium. The announcement highlights continued momentum behind alternative chemistries in the UK cleantech and deep tech scene, and reflects growing interest from energy investors in metal-free storage solutions.
Inside the product
Kodiaq says its proprietary organic electrolytes increase energy density and therefore storage capacity when used in flow batteries. The company positions the chemistry as a retrofit option for existing flow battery systems — a capital-light route that could boost return on investment for operators — while also pursuing co-development with battery OEMs and integrators for next-generation systems.
The technical claims in the release centre on substituting metal-based active materials with organic molecules, which the company argues offers environmental and supply-chain advantages. Kodiaq contends this approach can be manufactured and deployed globally, improving supply resilience versus mined metals that face geopolitical constraints.
Who are the investors?
The round raised £850,000 and was backed by over twenty high-net-worth investors drawn from climate tech and deep tech networks. The capital will be used to accelerate development towards pilot demonstrations and to position the company for a larger funding round targeted for mid-2026, intended to fund scaled demonstration projects in several global markets.
The investors backing Kodiaq are private backers rather than a named venture lead; the company frames the raise as validation of market interest and as bridge financing to commercial milestones.
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Founder perspective
Kodiaq was founded on patented research from the University of Cambridge. The founding team includes Professor Oren Scherman (CSO) and Dr Kamil Sokolowski (CTO), with Dr David Fyfe as chief executive. Fyfe previously chaired and led Cambridge Display Technology through its growth from a university spin-out to a NASDAQ listing and an eventual $285 million trade sale.
In the announcement, Dr David Fyfe, CEO, Kodiaq Technologies, said:
Energy storage doesn’t have to be dependent on the price or availability of metals. Our approach will replace that dependency with something globally available, sustainable, and scalable. This investment enables us to move development to the point at which pilot projects will demonstrate how British innovation can deliver global solutions.
In the announcement, Dr David Fyfe, CEO, Kodiaq Technologies, said:
Kodiaq’s business model combines deep scientific expertise with a clear commercial pathway. In a market increasingly shaped by geopolitical and material constraints, our metal-free chemistry represents both a competitive edge and a strategic opportunity.
The bigger picture
Kodiaq is positioning itself in a market analysts project could exceed $500 billion by 2030 for long-duration energy storage. If the company’s chemistry proves commercially viable at scale, it would add to a growing roster of UK energy innovations that aim to decouple storage capacity from constrained mineral supply chains. The retrofit-first strategy could make adoption faster for operators already running flow battery systems, while partnerships with OEMs would be necessary to influence future system design.
The deal is another signal that UK universities continue to feed the regional cleantech ecosystem with IP-ready ventures; the coming pilots and the planned 2026 raise will be the next tests of whether organic electrolytes can move from promising lab results to operational deployments across the UK and Europe.
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