Ilika plc (LON:IKA) Chief Executive Officer Graeme Purdy caught up with DirectorsTalk to discuss their Stereax technology and the grant of the battery patent in China
Q1: Now first off, can you quickly remind us of what Ilika’s Stereax technology is?
A1: Yes, the Stereax technology is a solid state battery technology in which we have replaced the liquid electrolytes that you get in the normal lithium ion battery with a thin layer of ceramic electrolytes which effectively turns the battery into a fully solid state device. It’s got some unique benefits, it allows the battery to be charged rapidly, it allows it to have a compact volume, a long cycle life and also, which is really important when you combine these batteries with energy harvesters, it has low leakage currents.
Q2: Now your announcement today mentions the patent families, what do you mean by the term family?
A2: Yes, in this context the family refers to the international patents which originate from the initial filing so when you submit a patent application, well typically we would do it in this country, and then you also file internationally and the patent goes through an examination process at different international patent offices and often the international variants of the original filing ends up being slightly different depending on how the examiners respond to the filing. So you refer to all of these related patents as being members of the same family.
Q3: Can you tell us what the patent covers?
A3: The patent covers the elements that Ilika have selected to make our solid state batteries out of, it effectively describes the composition of the material that goes into the patent.
Q4: In the past you’ve also announced the grant for other patents for other solid state batteries, what’s the difference between these families?
A4: Yes, the principal difference is actually that the other patent applications, and resulting patents, refer to the process by which we make the batteries themselves so the one that’s just been granted is a compositional patent and ones that we’ve mentioned in separate announcements relate to the process by which you make those materials.
Q5: Do you think China is an important jurisdiction for Ilika Plc?
A5: Absolutely, I think Chinese industry is becoming increasingly more sophisticated and also I would say that some of the world’s largest organisations that are active in the sectors we’re targeting are now based in China so it’s key for us to have adequate patent coverage in that jurisdiction.