UK startup Ionetic is opening a £5m smart battery pilot facility intended to make EV production faster, more flexible and more affordable. 

L-R: James Eaton, CEO and co-founder of Ionetic, with Andy Palmer, chairman of Ionetic

Called Arc Fab Pilot, the phase one battery pack manufacturing plant in Brackley is set to be brought online in 2025 and aims to provide specialist OEMs – such as those producing trucks and commercial vehicles – with a rapid, cost-effective route to high-quality, customised EV battery packs.

The new 5000-sq-ft facility will also serve as Ionetic’s global HQ and industrialisation centre, propelling its international plans.

The firm says its battery pack development offers radical improvements in time-to-market, affordability and risk reduction.

James Eaton, CEO and co-founder of Ionetic, said: “With EV adoption accelerating, OEMs need effective, flexible battery solutions. By embedding agility into the core of our production model, we’re removing the most significant barriers to custom EV battery production; cost, time, risk and scalability.

“Arc Fab Pilot will be the first step towards unleashing the potential of our Arc technology stack, allowing us to produce custom battery packs at a speed and price point that the current market simply doesn’t allow for, from right here in the UK.”

Ionetic says its Arc Fab system can produce a variety of battery pack designs on a single line, unlike traditional production lines dedicated to one product type.

The firm’s Arc technology stack can create optimised designs in days, a process that typically takes months, reducing upfront setup normally associated with custom EV battery pack development and production, slashing time-to-market by over 80%, enabling multi-million-dollar savings for OEMs.

Ionetic pitches its technology as a new middle ground in the EV battery market, bridging the gap between off-the-shelf solutions with compromised performance, and costly custom solutions viable only for the world’s biggest OEMs. Target markets include smaller, low-volume OEMs looking for affordable custom solutions.

“At a time when diversification in the EV battery pack market is more important than ever,” continued James Eaton, “our mission is to reduce compromises for our partners and make custom battery production accessible, adaptable, and aligned with the future of mobility.”

The facility is also planned to run on certified zero-carbon electricity, supporting Ionetic’s commitment to achieve operational net zero by 2030 while helping OEMs keep their environmental impact low.