Ricardo has secured UK government funding to develop its Advanced Modular Battery Systems (AMBERS) platform. The project will create scalable, high-power battery systems for automotive, aerospace, off-highway and defence applications. Ricardo leads the project consortium. The group includes battery manufacturer Volklec and battery pack specialist Hyperbat. The project received support from the UK Battery Innovation Programme. Innovate UK delivers the programme with support from the Department for Business and Trade. Ricardo aims to strengthen the UK’s domestic battery supply chain and reduce dependence on imported technologies. The company will design the battery pack using modular building blocks and integrated water-glycol cooling. The system will use high-power 21700 battery cells. Manufacturers will be able to configure the cells to meet different power and voltage requirements. Ricardo expects the platform to achieve a power density of 2.6 kW/L and an energy density of 220 Wh/L. The company plans to offer the battery packs as ready-made solutions for vehicle manufacturers. Volklec will supply the battery cells. Hyperbat will manufacture the battery packs at its Coventry facility. Ricardo will integrate several advanced technologies into the system. These include a wireless battery management system, AI-powered battery monitoring and an advanced cooling architecture. The AI system will monitor state of charge, state of health, internal resistance, remaining useful life and thermal runaway risk. Temoc Rodriguez, Ricardo’s Global Technical Expert in Electric Propulsion Systems, said the project will expand the company’s electrification portfolio. “Customers will no longer need to invest millions of pounds in battery development,” he said. “They will be able to purchase the baseline battery pack or customize the AMBERS architecture to meet their requirements.” The project received £972,000 from the Battery Innovation Programme. Consortium partners contributed