UK battery technology company Eqonic Group has disclosed that aluminium is the core material in its proprietary battery technology as it prepares to move from laboratory development towards industrial validation.
The company said its composite and battery architecture contain no lithium, sodium or rare-earth materials. It is targeting material costs equivalent to 30% of those for traditional lithium-metal batteries and a manufactured cost of £50/kWh at scale.
Eqonic has not disclosed the complete electrochemistry, including the other active materials or electrolyte, and has not described the technology specifically as aluminium-ion or aluminium-air. Performance figures such as energy density, cycle life, charge rate and operating voltage have also not been released.
The industrial-validation phase will test whether the technology can be manufactured reliably at commercially relevant volumes. Eqonic has not named the organisations conducting the tests or given a timetable for their completion.
The company said its aluminium-based chemistry and architecture were inherently non-flammable, avoiding the risk of thermal runaway associated with conventional lithium-ion systems. It also pointed to aluminium’s abundance and established supply chain as advantages over materials exposed to price volatility and geopolitical restrictions.
Aluminium-based chemistry gives material abundancy, safety and low cost
Eqonic founder and CEO Jas Kandola said: “We’ve always said we’d reveal the chemistry once we were ready to move to the next stage, and that stage is now. Aluminium-based chemistry gives us everything we set out to achieve – material abundancy, high levels of safety and low cost – without the trade-offs that lithium, sodium and rare earth materials carry. Confirming the chemistry is one part of the story; progressing towards industrial validation is the part that matters most, and that’s exactly where our focus is now.”
The announcement provides further detail about technology that Eqonic presented in October 2025, when it disclosed its cost, safety and supply-chain targets without identifying its core material.
In June, Eqonic was selected to participate in the UK government’s £452 million Battery Innovation Programme, delivered by Innovate UK with support from the Department for Business and Trade. The £452 million figure refers to the overall programme rather than the value of funding awarded to Eqonic.
The company plans to use the programme to accelerate development of a full-stack digital twin of its manufacturing process.
Eqonic also agreed a strategic collaboration with UK electrical contractor Barton Knight Group in May. The companies intend to supply, install and maintain battery storage and renewable-energy systems for UK customers.
Earlier in 2026, Eqonic appointed John Saunders as executive director and Angela Knight CBE as non-executive director. The company has previously said it intends to commercialise its battery technology through licensing and partnerships rather than constructing its own manufacturing plant.
