UK battery materials company Integrals Power has been chosen as the cathode active material supplier for a £2-million UK government-funded project to develop lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP) battery technology for defense and electric vehicle applications. The 30-month program is led by battery supplier Denchi Group and funded through the Battery Innovation Programme.
Integrals Power will produce hundreds of kilos of its manganese-rich LMFP cathode material at its multi-tonne facility in Milton Keynes. The material will go into pouch and cylindrical cells, the latter in 21700 and 4695 formats, manufactured on the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre’s new Flexible Pilot Line in Coventry. Denchi will then assemble the cells into battery packs at its Thurso, Scotland plant, including its BB-2590 design, a rugged, waterproof pack built for military communications equipment, sensors and drones. Initial validation trials will replace the nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) cells in BB-2590 packs with the new LMFP cells.
Integrals Power’s LMFP has a manganese content of 80%, which the company says delivers up to 20% greater energy density than conventional lithium iron phosphate (LFP).
“By eliminating reliance on critical minerals such as cobalt and nickel while delivering higher energy density than LFP, LMFP is well suited to the evolving requirements of both defence and automotive applications,” said Behnam Hormozi, Integrals Power’s founder and CEO.
China currently dominates global LFP supply. The International Energy Agency estimates that a halt in battery supply chain exports from China would cost EV plants outside the country about $17 billion a month in lost output. This program uses an end-to-end battery supply chain based in the UK and Europe, and Integrals Power regards it as a demonstrator for the sovereign capability needed for defense applications within NATO.
“With more than 20 years’ experience supplying the military with British designed and built battery systems, we have a very clear understanding of what the defence sector needs as electrification becomes a core element of future strategy,” said Andrew Cowie, CEO of Denchi Group. “We look forward to building the first LMFP battery packs and getting them out into the field for validation trials.”
i-charging, an EV charging company with headquarters in Atlanta and Portugal, has achieved Intertek ETL certification for its i-light charger, a key milestone in validating the equipment’s safety and compliance for the US and Canadian markets.
ETL certification, issued by Intertek and recognized by US and Canadian certification authorities as demonstrating compliance with the electrical safety standards required for high-power DC charging equipment (UL 2202 and UL 2231 and CSA C22.2#346), confirms that i-light meets the technical requirements to operate safely in commercial and industrial charging environments.
i-light is i-charging’s solution for medium and heavy-duty EVs. It delivers up to 1.5 MW per output using MCS (Megawatt Charging System) or up to 800 kW using CCS. It features a 10-inch touchscreen for the user interface and an available 37-inch transparent display designed to be visible from the driver’s seat.
ETL certification, issued by Intertek, verifies that electrical equipment meets applicable US and Canadian safety standards and can be legally installed and operated in these countries. For charging infrastructure operators, it removes a key barrier to deployment, confirming that the equipment has been independently tested for electrical safety before it reaches the field. This follows a series of certifications already secured across i-charging’s product range.
“ETL certification is a decisive step in bringing i-light to North America,” said Jeff Cohen, CEO of i-charging USA. “Fleet operators demand charging infrastructure that meets the mission-critical duty cycles of the medium- and heavy-duty EVs on the road today, and is ready for MCS as the standard matures. This certification confirms that i-light meets all the safety requirements to support CCS and MCS charging.”
DC fast charging manufacturer Kempower has deployed eight new DC fast charging points at a service station in Astwick, in the UK.
What’s newsworthy about this, you ask? Kempower is one of the top-selling DC fast charger brands, and operators are regularly rolling out its hardware around the world.
What’s notable about this particular deployment is the financing behind it. Kempower’s first UK leasing-enabled EV charging project was funded through a flexible finance agreement provided by leasing partner DLL. Kempower and DLL partnered in 2024 in order to help lower the upfront costs of EV charging infrastructure for operators.
The financing model covers not only the hardware, but also regular maintenance services from Kempower. Hardware procurement, installation and long-term servicing for the project are provided by Kempower’s infrastructure partner, Yunex Traffic.
The Astwick site, located on the A1 near Hitchin in Hertfordshire, features four Kempower Double Satellites, providing eight CCS2 connection points. The Satellite chargers are connected to two Kempower Power Units, which enable each charger to supply up to 400 kW to connected EVs.
“Responses to our new chargers have been overwhelmingly positive. Financing the project through Kempower with DLL was a huge enabler,” said Shilan Raja, Director of Highway Stops Retail Limited (HSRL), the operator of the charging site.
“This flexible funding model opens the door for customers like HSRL who are in the early stages of expanding their EV charging services,” said Rolle Nieminen, Kempower’s Head of Sales for the UK & Ireland. “The agreement we have with DLL helps remove the financial risk for operators, making the decision to commit to EV charging easier than ever.”
“We partnered with Kempower because we wanted to enable its customers to be successful without the significant initial capex. In today’s world, where the initial cost of hardware is high, our financing solutions can make the deployment of EV chargers easier and more affordable,” said Mark McLoughlin, Energy Transition Country Commercial Manager for UK & Ireland at DLL.
Paua, a UK-based EV charging payment platform for fleets, has partnered with smart EV charging innovator Easee to simplify and improve how businesses reimburse drivers for home charging.
“For fleet managers navigating the transition to electric, home charging reimbursement remains one of the most complex and poorly solved challenges,” says Paua. “Many organisations rely on [the UK tax authority’s] Advisory Electric Rate (AER), which often fails to reflect the true cost of charging at home.”
By combining Easee’s charger data with Paua’s reimbursement platform, fleets can base reimbursement on actual energy usage and electricity tariffs rather than manual expense claims and estimated rates. Easee’s connected chargers provide the data foundation, and Paua Reimburse acts as a reimbursement and approval layer designed specifically for EV charging payment.
“For fleet drivers, home is where most EV charging happens; and until now, getting reimbursed fairly for it has been anything but straightforward,” said Steve Frost, Head of Automotive at Easee. “By combining Easee’s connected charger data with Paua’s reimbursement platform, we’re removing that friction entirely.”
“Home charging is where reimbursement breaks down,” said Niall Riddell, CEO and co-founder of Paua. “Drivers are left out of pocket, and fleet teams are left managing spreadsheets and guesswork. This partnership with Easee changes that. Together, we’re enabling a model where reimbursement is automatic, accurate and fair.”
Skyfly Technologies is making the electric propulsion system it built for its own aircraft available to other aircraft manufacturers through the secondary market, and has unveiled a separate hybrid propulsion system for unmanned aircraft that use distributed electric propulsion. The electric system is the one powering the company’s production-spec Axe, a two-seat aircraft that can take off vertically.
The Integrated Motor Inverter is the one piece available for OEM evaluation and integration. The combined motor and inverter unit was co-developed with German engineering firm SciMo, and Skyfly describes it as a direct swap for a 100 hp Rotax engine that supports a range of aircraft configurations. The company positions the swap as a way for an OEM to electrify an existing airframe rather than design a new installation around an unfamiliar powerplant.
A Power Distribution Unit and an 800 V class battery system complete the electric propulsion package. Skyfly built the distribution unit for its own architecture and light sport aircraft (LSA) safety requirements, and developed the battery system in-house. Both are in active development, and full specifications will follow ahead of availability, according to the company.
Skyfly says the propulsion technology is engineered to meet FAA LSA requirements, and that it holds a seat on the rule-making committee for the agency’s Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification (MOSAIC) rule. MOSAIC rewrites the light sport category, and its aircraft certification provisions took effect on July 24, 2026.
The Hybrid Propulsion System pairs a turbine generator with electric propulsion for unmanned platforms rather than the LSA segment. Skyfly puts the range at up to 400-plus miles and says the system can charge in flight, recharge on the ground when off-grid and run on JP-8, the US military’s standard jet fuel. It is in active development.
“Opening that technology to the wider OEM community means other manufacturers no longer have to build this capability from scratch,” said Michael Thompson, CEO of Skyfly Technologies. “Our Hybrid Propulsion System addresses a very different need, giving unmanned platforms using distributed electric propulsion the range and endurance that pure battery-electric systems can’t yet match.”
Tapes can simplify complex processes, support robotic assembly, reduce scrap, and more.
By Max VanRaaphorst
Globally, more than 60 million EVs are now on the road. It’s a number that might have seemed unimaginable just a few years ago. It underscores how EV OEMs have moved beyond needing only to prove feasibility, and must now prove manufacturability — the ability to scale-up rapidly while maximizing quality, safety and profits.
The same holds true for EV and e-mobility batteries. While the technology continues to evolve, the path to marketability now goes through manufacturing. Winning providers will be those that can optimize their production processes, automate effectively and produce high quality at a low cost.
That path may seem daunting. But there are strategies available that can result in greater quality and throughput. One such strategy is materials selection, particularly that of pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) tapes.
What do PSA tapes offer for battery design?
PSA tapes are a mature, sophisticated and diverse technology used in a wide range of industries, including automotive and transportation. Depending on its configuration, a tape may feature one or two adhesives that bond to a substrate upon the application of light pressure, a facestock that provides dimensional stability and other qualities, and a liner that protects the adhesive until its application.
These versatile tapes can easily fit in tight spaces while helping limit a pack’s overall mass. They offer clean and repeatable application and are typically compatible with automated production processes.
From a manufacturing perspective, such benefits may make PSA tapes an enhanced alternative choice to liquid adhesives, which require cure time and have variance in their application; and mechanical fasteners, which increase part count and mass.
Common PSA tape configurations
PSA tapes can also be customized to provide qualities that go beyond simple bonding. Some examples: Electrically insulative film facestocks can enhance a system’s dielectric protection
strategy. Tapes combined with flame barrier materials, such as mica, can enhance thermal protection. Tapes laminated to thick foam facestocks can provide shock absorption for delicate components.
PSA tapes as a design-for-manufacturability solution
Importantly, PSA tapes can be customized not just for the end use, but for specific challenges of the manufacturing process itself. This is the essence of DFM.
The fact is, battery manufacturing is highly complex at multiple levels. Cell, module and pack production involve different substrates, tight tolerances and layered assemblies, and electrical and thermal management requirements. Wasteful production steps and damage to fragile battery components are pain points, and may be frequent occurrences for manufacturers using traditional bonding and assembly methods.
How PSA tapes address pain points and optimize battery production
Enter PSA tapes. Here are just a few ways this DFM solution can help optimize battery production.
PSA tapes reduce process steps, production line costs and complexity
Manufacturing optimization with PSA tape solutions
The use of PSA tapes eliminates some of the time-and effort-intensive steps associated with traditional bonding and fastening methods. As mentioned earlier, tapes require no cure time. Once adhered, a taped part can move immediately to the next step of the production process. This saves time and eliminates the need for equipment such as curing ovens, helping manage CAPEX.
Avery Dennison next-gen Volt ToughTM Stretch offers a prime example of these benefits.
Estimated cost comparison: Use of powder coating vs. next-gen Volt Tough Stretch
The product is a PSA-tape-based dielectric insulation solution engineered for adhering to flat metal blanks. Those blanks can then be cut and stamped into whatever shapes are needed for the battery component’s design. The “stretchability” engineered into the tape prevents the dielectric barrier from tearing or cracking during those processes.
Traditional dielectric strategies, such as powder coating, can add complexity and cost to a production process whether done in-house or outsourced. As a PSA tape, next-gen Volt Tough Stretch can more easily be applied inline, manually or robotically, to promote simplicity and cost savings.
PSA tapes support automation and robotic application
By using tape constructions tailored to their application and automation methods, e-mobility manufacturers can design efficient and effective automated processes. PSA tapes support multiple automation strategies, including pick-and-place of die-cut parts, single-pass liner removal and application, and wide-web lamination for large components such as cooling plates.
Because PSA tape bonding occurs immediately upon contact with a substrate, components are less likely to shift during transfer between stations. This is particularly important for layered battery assemblies, where misalignment can lead to electrical clearance issues, uneven thermal interfaces and downstream assembly failures.
Dimensional stability is another plus for PSA tapes applied robotically. Film-based carriers such as PET resist stretching during robotic handling and placement, improving positional accuracy at high application speeds. Where assemblies require conformity around edges or uneven surfaces, nonwoven or foam carriers can be used to balance flexibility with automation compatibility.
For battery producers focused on scale, PSA tapes engineered for robotic application can help stabilize production lines, improve yield and increase overall equipment effectiveness.
PSA tapes help manage scrap rates and promote quality
Many battery materials are delicate and difficult to handle, making them especially vulnerable to damage during high-speed assembly. PSA tapes can be customized to help battery manufacturers limit these materials’ contribution to waste and scrap rates.
A common challenge occurs during liner removal. Materials such as mica or ceramic paper can tear, delaminate or fracture if subjected to excessive stress and forces.
PSA tape constructions that pair controlled-release liners with appropriately balanced adhesive systems reduce the mechanical stress placed on these materials during automated or semi-automated removal. This results in fewer damaged parts entering downstream processes.
Manufacturers such as Avery Dennison can fine tune a liner’s removal force through approaches such as controlling the release formula (low, medium or high) and/or zone coating the adhesive.
In addition, tapes can be designed for compatibility with vision systems to support inline quality checks. Printed liners or pigmented adhesive systems allow automated equipment to verify part presence and placement before the assembly progresses further down the line. Identifying defects early allows for removal of noncompliant parts prior to the addition of value, thus reducing the total cost of scrap.
At scale, such incremental improvements compound. By reducing handling damage, misalignment and late-stage defects, PSA tapes optimized for battery manufacturing help improve overall yield while decreasing manufacturing costs.
Engineering PSA-tape-based DFM solutions for your production line
Printed liners aid robotic vision systems that perform inline quality checks
A logical first step in creating PSA-tape solutions for your manufacturing needs is to locate collaborators who can provide expertise and capabilities you may not have in-house. The industry is served by a variety of PSA tape manufacturers who can fulfill this role.
Some questions to consider as you vet tape manufacturers:
Does the manufacturer have experience and application expertise in the battery industry?
Does the manufacturer have the R&D capabilities to develop the solutions I need?
Does the manufacturer have the business appetite to develop customized solutions? (Not all do.)
Does the manufacturer have access to a network of additional companies, such as tape converters and functional material manufacturers, who may be crucial to my success?
Does the tape manufacturer provide ongoing support?
Ideally, this relationship begins early in your product design phase. This gives the tape manufacturer maximum leverage to develop solutions that work for your manufacturing process.
My company, Avery Dennison, collaborates with OEMs and suppliers to tailor PSA-tape-based solutions to specific cell, module, and pack designs. We offer a wide range of PSA-tape solutions for the e-mobility battery industry, and our portfolio is backed by extensive R&D capabilities.
About the author
Max VanRaaphorst is market manager for Energy Storage at Avery Dennison Materials Group North America. With a decade of technical, sales, and marketing experience in the adhesives and tapes field, Max strives to help OEMs and suppliers address design, manufacturing, and performance challenges in the fast-evolving energy storage segment.
Automakers and truck-makers play a double game, proclaiming their greenness to the public while lobbying policymakers to water down or eliminate environmental regulations. Environmental and public health advocates write letters to the companies politely asking them to stop doing so.
In the latest round, a coalition of 24 organizations, including the Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity, GreenLatinos and the Natural Resources Defense Council, have sent a letter to the CEOs of Paccar, Cummins and Daimler urging the companies to reverse their efforts to weaken implementation of the EPA’s heavy-duty nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions standards, which are set to take effect in 2027.
The letter calls out the companies’ recent public statements backing a rollback of the standards—a position the groups say directly contradicts assurances the manufacturers have given investors about their readiness to meet the 2027 requirements. The groups point to manufacturers’ own earnings calls: Paccar stated it was “prepared” for the 35 mg NOx standard and Cummins said it would “be ready to launch” products under the 2027 rule.
“Paccar, Cummins, and Daimler must end their attempts to undermine implementation of heavy-duty NOx standards, threatening the health of the communities and drivers upon which the heavy duty industry relies,” the groups wrote.
The letter notes that heavy-duty trucks make up just 6% of the on-road fleet but account for 59% of the transportation sector’s NOx emissions and 55% of its particulate pollution, and cites American Lung Association findings that truck drivers face elevated exposure to diesel exhaust and higher lung cancer mortality.
“Cummins is marketing an aftertreatment system built for EPA27. Daimler is selling engines it calls compliant today. PACCAR told investors it was ready last year,” said Andrea Marpillero-Colomina, Policy, Research & Data Analytics Advisor at GreenLatinos. “They can’t sell readiness to shareholders while simultaneously buying delay from Congress.”
