Northern Gritstone co-leads £2 million pre-Seed round into AmpliSi
Northern Gritstone co-leads £2 million pre-Seed round into University of Sheffield nextgen battery spinout
Doctors Gwen Chimonides, Ruth Sayers, and Sid Patwardhan.
AmpliSi is a graduate of Northern Gritstone’s NG Studios deeptech program. The company is swapping graphite for silicon to unlock scalable, sustainable and supply chain-secure EV batteries with dramatically improved performance. The £2 million round was co-led by Northern Gritstone and Clean Growth Fund.
AmpliSi is addressing a critical limitation in today’s lithium-ion batteries. Conventional graphite anodes constrain energy density, charging performance and overall battery efficiency. AmpliSi’s proprietary porous silicon anode material is designed to replace graphite, enabling lighter, longer-lasting batteries for applications ranging from electric vehicles to energy storage systems.
AmpliSi uses a novel low-temperature process to convert abundant silica into porous silicon. This simpler route avoids many of the hazards, costs and scalability challenges associated with conventional silicon anode production methods, which often rely on complex, energy-intensive processes. As demand for higher-performance batteries accelerates due to EV adoption, AmpliSi will target the mobility sector, which requires batteries with far greater energy density.
The latest funding round will support AmpliSi’s transition from laboratory development toward industrial scale-up and early customer engagement.
Dr Ruth Sayers, CEO of AmpliSi, said: “Our focus from day one has been on building a new type of silicon battery material that can be produced at scale and integrated into existing battery supply chains. This investment allows us to move beyond proof-of-concept and concentrate on scaling a product that delivers real commercial value to battery manufacturers, without introducing unnecessary cost or complexity.”
Duncan Johnson, CEO of Northern Gritstone, said: “AmpliSi is the embodiment of deep-tech innovation emerging from the University of Sheffield that Northern Gritstone strives to support. As a graduate of our NG Studios venture building program, the company combines world-class science with a clear route to commercial impact through its next generation of battery technology. By developing a scalable, lower-cost process aligned with the needs of existing supply chains, we are excited to support AmpliSi as it moves from the lab to commercial deployment.”
Beverley Gower-Jones, Managing Partner of the Clean Growth Fund, said “Silicon anodes have long been recognised as offering dramatic performance advantages over current anode materials in battery systems. AmpliSi’s technology directly addresses the challenges that have restricted the widescale adoption of silicon anodes to date, including the emissions intensity of current manufacturing processes. The Clean Growth Fund is delighted to support the company on its goal of unlocking silicon’s potential and supporting the acceleration of the energy transition.”