A UK battery materials startup founded by a former chess champion has raised £4.65m in a seed round, it said today. TaiSan, which operates out of a Cambridge battery lab, builds next-generation sodium batteries for electric bikes, scooters, vehicles and power tools.
It says its tech makes batteries that are more efficient than existing sodium-ion and lithium-ion battery rivals.
The seed round was co-led by Eos Advisory and the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II through fund manager Mercia Ventures. AFI Ventures, EverQuest Capital Partners, Adeline Arts & Science, Techmind and existing investors InnoEnergy, TSP Ventures, Exergon, and Heartfelt also participated in the round.
Of the total raised, £700,000 came from Innovate UK, which provided grant funding through its Investor Partnerships Programme, the startup said.
The startup has previously raised €1.7m in pre-seed funding. TaiSan says it will use the funding to advance its technology and begin pilot tests with manufacturers.
Sanzhar Taizhan, founder and CEO, who is a former Kazakhstani chess champion, said: “At TaiSan, we are pushing the limits of electrochemistry in our mission to create more sustainable energy storage.
"While we’ve kept our most exciting breakthroughs in stealth, this funding will help us enhance the performance of sodium-ion batteries and bring the benefits to a mainstream audience.”
Photo: Taisan
Would you like to write the first comment?
Login to post comments