March 12, 2026: A ‘flexible’ battery pilot line to bridge the gap between lab-scale research and full-scale production for innovators and developers has been opened in the UK.

The line at the government-backed UK Battery Industrialisation Centre gives companies a cost-effective way to develop their products — aimed at supporting rapid development, feasibility and early‑stage manufacturing.

The centre said on March 12 that organizations using the line, near Coventry, are given the agility to move from lab-based concepts to proven, industrially scalable products.

The pilot line is the latest addition to the centre’s battery manufacturing capabilities, which include a battery development lab offering cell characterisation ability and a cell cycling facility in addition to an electrode process development area.

According to the centre, the line can accommodate multiple solvents, chemistries and cell formats.

Centre managing director Sean Gilgunn said the pilot line is the missing piece in the jigsaw of the UK’s battery ecosystem that “can now go from laboratory testing all the way to gigafactories.

He said the line gives startups and smaller businesses the opportunity to bring their innovative chemistries and materials to prove at scale before moving onto full commercialisation. 

Last year, new UK business Volklec said it would manufacture advanced lithium ion batteries at the centre under an exclusive technology transfer deal with China’s Far East Battery.