The UK Startup Promising to Unlock the 'Holy Grail' of Battery Charging - Sai Shivareddy, Nyobolt's CEO

Following a decade of research into fast-charging battery technology at Cambridge University, Nyobolt was incorporated as a company in 2019. The British startup is scaling rapidly and currently has 92 employees located over three continents. It has recently showcased an electric vehicle (EV) that offers what it calls the ‘holy grail’ of charging - the ability to charge fully and repeatedly in less than 6 minutes. 

"Nyobolt has created batteries capable of charging in minutes by pioneering novel anode materials, cell designs, efficient software control and power electronics. The company’s system level approach has resulted in uniquely efficient and powerful batteries," Sai Shivareddy, Nyobolt's CEO, tells Auto Futures.

Nyobolt is currently in pre-production stage, with four battery types available. Its vision is to resolve the core problems that are hindering the wide-scale adoption of electric cars. The technology will go into production in early 2024.

"Currently, owning an EV diminishes the driving experience. You have to plan your journey based on charging stations and then wait a considerable time for the vehicle to charge," he says.

According to Shivareddy, with Nyobolt's technology, charging can be completed, "In the time it takes to buy a coffee, or around the same time it would take to fill with petrol. The design, which uses considerably less raw materials, is also intended to lower up-front purchase costs."

"The technology is proven across a range of applications and Nyobolt is engaged in a number of conversations with automotive customers with plans to begin battery production and subsequent supply in to OEMS from 2026. While Nyobolt’s battery technology might initially be of greatest appeal to sportscar and premium automotive brands, it is capable of widespread adoption, with potentially enormous benefits."

The technology is not limited to small batteries. Once 1MW chargers become available, batteries as large as those employed in any luxury EV, truck or bus used today can also be made and could be charged in a few minutes.

Introducing The Nyobolt EV

Nyobolt has tested its batteries for over 2,000 fast charge cycles without significant performance loss. This has paved the way for the development of ultra-efficient and lightweight EVs.

Revealed in June, 2023, the Nyobolt EV uses a 35kWh battery and is capable of fully charging with up to 250km range in under 6 mins with existing charging infrastructure. It was developed with CALLUM, a design and engineering business.

"Nyobolt wished to demonstrate its ultra-fast charging battery technology in a nimble, lightweight sportscar and turned to the talents of revered car designer, Julian Thomson. Thomson’s natural starting point was the Lotus Elise, having conceived it in early 1994 and, since its release in September 1996, has always wanted to evolve and modernise it. Some thoughts were put to paper in 2015 when Autocar asked him to recreate a car from his past for a magazine feature, but this did not progress further at the time," explains Shivareddy.

"Following Nyobolt’s approach in 2021, and working as a freelance designer at the time before being appointed design director at GM Advanced Design Europe, Thomson embraced the opportunity, inviting design and engineering business CALLUM to see the design through to execution. The result of this collaboration is the Nyobolt EV," he adds.

In a press release, David Fairbairn, managing director at CALLUM, comments: “Nyobolt’s pioneering battery technology has provided us with a unique and inspiring opportunity to support in the design and execution of a vehicle set to mark the way forward for EV technology. The collaborative creativity, engineering capabilities and steadfast efforts of Nyobolt, Julian Thomson and CALLUM have resulted in an EV that is not only exciting technically for the industry, but something that is beautiful to behold, too.”

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Nyobolt has raised £60 million in equity investment, plus £6 million in grant-funded projects from the UK government. 

"The current focus is on fast-charge EVs, plus robotics, motorsports, and other heavy-duty applications. Following the launch of the Nyobolt EV, further announcements can be expected," says Shivareddy.

Finally, we asked him what urban mobility and transportation will look like by 2030.

"It’s clear that we need a step change, specifically around charging, if we are to have any hope of achieving the 2030 ban on petrol and diesel and the 2035 ban on hybrids. Government incentives and charging infrastructure will play a major role, but so does battery innovation, which in Nyobolt’s case, will help alleviate many of the issues preventing more widespread adoption," he predicts.