Illumion closes £2.1 million Seed round to further develop their cutting-edge battery technology

Illumion, a University of Cambridge spin-out, has closed a £2.1million Seed investment round led by the Ventures team of Foresight, with additional participation from Cambridge Enterprise Ventures, Parkwalk Advisers and Cambridge Angels.

Illumion is commercialising a revolutionary microscope technology known as Charge Photometry. This visualises in real time what is happening to battery material during charging and discharging.

Founded in 2022 by CEO Dr. Christoph Schnedermann together with Lead Scientist Dr. Alice Merryweather at the University of Cambridge, Illumion builds on research undertaken by co-founders Professor Dame Clare Grey, at the Yusuf Hamied Department, and Professor Akshay Rao, at the Cavendish Laboratory.

Battery material development methods have not fundamentally changed in 50 years and the process of developing a new battery material, into a commercial product, may take a decade. Illumion has pioneered an optical imaging technique named Charge Photometry. This offers accessible and fast insights into how battery materials behave during the charge and discharge cycle and avoids destructive testing. With energy storage becoming a vital tool to facilitate the transition to electrification and enabling the use of more energy from renewable sources, it is anticipated there will be an increased demand for more diversified battery chemistries. Illumion’s technology could be a key enabler for the battery industry.

The investment will enable Illumion to expand its team, develop advanced analytical software, and pursue new market opportunities. As part of this investment, Andy Bloxam, Managing Director for Foresight’s Ventures team, will join the Board as a non-executive Director.

Dr Christoph Schnedermann continues,

“We are tremendously excited to embark on the next phase with the Foresight and Cambridge Enterprise Ventures teams, bringing the power of Charge Photometry to every battery R&D lab in the world.”

Chris Gibbs, Investment Director of Cambridge Enterprise Ventures, said:

“We’re delighted to collaborate again with Foresight Technology Funds to support Christoph and Illumion on their commercial journey. At Cambridge Enterprise Ventures, our mission is to back visionary founders from the University of Cambridge who are driving groundbreaking innovations, just like Christoph and his team. They have proven execution, and Illumion’s Charge Photometry technology is already making its mark in the market.”

Andy Bloxam, Managing Director of Foresight’s Ventures team, commented:

“Bringing breakthrough technology like this to market is exactly what the Foresight Technology Funds were set up to do and we are delighted to support Christoph and his exceptional team. We can’t wait to see the advanced insights that Illumion’s Charge Photometry will provide to battery material developers.”

Image credits:

Team image: Illumion
Banner and quote image: Unsplash