SubSea Craft has completed a multi-million-pound investment in British battery specialist LORILLION, acquiring a 40% equity interest as the companies expand an existing technical relationship. The transaction is intended to strengthen UK capabilities in the design, engineering, industrialization, and manufacture of specialist battery systems for defense, marine, aerospace, and automotive applications. It also gives SubSea Craft closer involvement in a critical technology area supporting VICTA, its advanced dual-domain maritime platform being developed for special operations forces.
Strategic Investment Strengthens UK Battery Capability
The partnership brings together SubSea Craft’s maritime engineering capabilities and LORILLION’s expertise in bespoke electrification, battery systems, control systems, power electronics, and e-propulsion. Both companies are positioning the investment as a way to improve domestic supply-chain resilience and reduce dependence on overseas providers for strategically important technologies. SubSea Craft said greater control over battery-system development will also allow its engineering teams to respond more quickly to evolving technical requirements, customer needs, and future platform upgrades.
LORILLION Plans Workforce and Production Expansion
Headquartered in Coventry, with additional operations in Prague, LORILLION develops customized battery and electrification solutions for highly regulated and technically demanding industries. The investment will support an expansion of its engineering workforce to more than 70 employees, accelerate development of proprietary battery-management technology, and help establish a new production facility in the Midlands scheduled to open next year. The company aims to strengthen its ability to provide customers with an end-to-end service covering initial concepts, product design, validation, certification, testing, and eventual production.
VICTA Program Deepens Technical Collaboration
A central element of the partnership is the development of a bespoke battery system for VICTA, SubSea Craft’s maritime platform designed to support covert insertion missions and operate at depths exceeding 50 meters. Battery performance is particularly important to the vessel because its power system directly affects operational capability, endurance, reliability, and mission flexibility in challenging environments. By working more closely with LORILLION, SubSea Craft expects to accelerate development while retaining greater control over a mission-critical component and reducing exposure to potential supply disruptions.
Leaders Emphasize Sovereign Engineering Capability
SubSea Craft Chief Executive Officer Camilla Martin said the investment reflects the importance of securing not only battery supply, but also domestic engineering expertise, manufacturing capability, and long-term technological independence. She described the battery system used in VICTA as a critical part of the platform rather than a standard component, making close cooperation between the companies an important part of the vessel’s development strategy. LORILLION Chief Executive Officer Richie Frost said the partnership will support expansion of the company’s engineering team, accelerate proprietary technology development, and establish stronger battery-pack manufacturing capabilities in the UK.
The acquisition of a 40% stake gives SubSea Craft a significant strategic interest in one of its key technology partners while providing LORILLION with additional resources to scale engineering, product development, and manufacturing. Beyond the VICTA program, the investment reflects wider efforts to build more resilient domestic supply chains for advanced technologies used across defense, marine, aerospace, automotive, and energy-related applications. The partnership is expected to deepen collaboration between the two companies while strengthening the UK’s capacity to design and manufacture specialized battery systems for demanding and strategically important markets.