CDO2 have been named as one of fifteen SMEs to receive a share of £1.1m from the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) UK, in the latest wave of the Technology Developer Accelerator Programme (TDAP) for companies developing low-carbon technologies. The APC’s grant funding and business planning support will help develop these new technologies without taking any IP or stake in the business.

CDO2 is developing a new generation of electric vehicle battery sensors that can map current flow in individual cells in a battery pack. The sensors can be used in battery diagnostic testing and manufacturing quality control to find defects and improve cell design. The company is working in collaboration with manufacturing partners and researchers from the Sussex Programme for Quantum Research, to produce a large-scale version of the sensors suitable for deployment in electric and hybrid vehicles. This could provide a more reliable estimate of the state of charge and state of health of the battery pack. The consortium received grant funding for the project from Innovate UK last year, as part of the government’s Faraday Battery Challenge.

“We need a range of technologies to decarbonise vehicles from passenger to heavy duty and beyond,” said Josh Denne, TDAP manager for the APC. “The variety of technology coming through this programme reflects the change in the industry. There is no silver bullet for decarbonising the transport sector, being technology agnostic at the APC allows us to be reactive and work with some revolutionary new technology and organisations. We are looking forward to being part of their journeys.”

TDAP is designed to help technology developers with early-stage technologies by providing business planning and grant funding of up to £104,000, and helping to open new routes to market. On average, organisations who completed the programme in 2018 increased their average headcount by 27% over the 18-month project and accelerated their time to market by more than 12 months.

CDO2 is a leader in current density imaging.