Avocet Battery Materials Wins UK DRIVE35 Funding to Scale DryTab Battery Tab Technology

Avocet Battery Materials Secures DRIVE35 Funding to Accelerate DryTab Surface Technology

UK Government funding to support the next stage of DryTab development

Avocet Battery Materials (ABM) is pleased to announce that it has secured grant funding through the UK Government’s DRIVE35 programme, delivered by the Department for Business and Trade in partnership with the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) and Innovate UK.

The funding will support the continued development and commercialisation of DryTab, ABM’s proprietary next-generation surface technology for battery lead tabs, helping accelerate research, development and industrialisation of a more sustainable approach to battery manufacturing.

This milestone represents an important step in bringing innovative UK-developed battery technologies closer to commercial adoption while strengthening the UK’s battery supply chain.

Why Surface Technology Matters

Although battery lead tabs represent only a small component of a lithium-ion pouch cell, their performance has a direct influence on long-term reliability of the cell. Therefore, failure at the lead tab can result in adverse failure of the cell.

Conventional manufacturing methods often rely on wet chemical surface treatment processes that require multiple processing stages, significant energy consumption and chemical waste management.

As battery manufacturers continue to seek more sustainable and cost-effective production methods, opportunities exist to rethink how these critical components are manufactured.

Introducing DryTab

DryTab is Avocet Battery Materials’ proprietary surface technology that has been under development for the past two years.

Rather than relying on conventional wet chemical treatments, it has been designed as a completely dry production process, offering a simpler and more environmentally responsible alternative.

Potential benefits include:

• High resistance to electrolyte corrosion
• A 100% dry manufacturing process
• Elimination of hazardous chemicals
• Lower energy consumption
• A significantly smaller production footprint
• Compatibility with both anode and cathode tabs
• Optimised performance on bare copper, reducing the need for traditional nickel plating

A fast, scalable manufacturing process designed for cost-effective production

As battery manufacturing continues to evolve, technologies such as this one have the potential to improve both manufacturing efficiency and sustainability.

Accelerating Development

This government funding will allow Avocet Battery Materials to continue advancing DryTab through the next stages of development and build an investment ready business case for the commercialisation of the technology.
While the project remains in its early phases, the investment will help support further research and validation as the technology progresses towards commercial readiness.

The funding also demonstrates confidence in UK innovation and reinforces the importance of developing advanced battery manufacturing technologies domestically.

Looking Ahead

At Avocet Battery Materials, we remain committed to developing practical innovations that help battery manufacturers improve performance while reducing environmental impact.

Receiving support through the DRIVE35 programme is an exciting milestone, not only for this project, but also for our wider mission of developing advanced battery materials that contribute to the future of electrification.

We look forward to sharing further updates as the project progresses.

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Avocet Battery Materials Secures DRIVE35 Funding to Accelerate DryTab Surface Technology, source