TaiSan, a Cambridge-based battery technology startup, has secured £4.65 million in funding to advance its quasi-solid-state sodium-ion battery platform and move toward manufacturer pilot programs. The company plans to expand its laboratory operations in Cambridge, establish a Coventry presence, and test its cells with prospective industrial partners. The financing positions TaiSan to turn early customer interest into technical validation as it pursues applications across electric mobility, portable power, and other energy storage markets.
Seed Financing
Eos Advisory and the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II, managed by Mercia Ventures, co-led the round. AFI Ventures, EverQuest Capital Partners, Adeline Arts & Science, Techmind, François Badelon, InnoEnergy, TSP Ventures, Exergon, and Heartfelt also participated. Innovate UK contributed £700,000 through its Investor Partnerships Programme, adding public support to a syndicate of deep-tech, climate, and industrial technology investors.
Deployment Plans
TaiSan said it has signed letters of intent with potential customers, although it has not disclosed the counterparties or commercial terms. The new capital is intended to fund further development work and pilots alongside manufacturers, a crucial stage for a company seeking to demonstrate that its chemistry can translate from laboratory progress into scalable products. Building additional capacity in Coventry should also support closer engagement with the Midlands’ automotive, manufacturing, engineering, and battery supply-chain networks.
Technology Strategy
The startup is developing sodium-ion batteries built around a proprietary quasi-solid-state electrolyte, which it says can make cells lighter and more compact than existing sodium-ion and lithium-ion alternatives. TaiSan also argues that replacing conventional liquid electrolytes can improve safety, while sodium chemistry may offer a more sustainable route to energy storage than lithium-dependent systems. Founder and chief executive Sanzhar Taizhan said the funding will help the company improve performance and bring the technology closer to mainstream use.
Building on Earlier Backing
The round follows TaiSan’s £1.3 million pre-seed financing announced in July 2024, led by EIT InnoEnergy and TSP Ventures, with Heartfelt and Exergon participating. At that time, TaiSan said it was developing quasi-solid-state sodium batteries for battery-electric vehicles and had secured memorandums of understanding with automotive original equipment manufacturers. The latest financing retains several of those early backers while bringing new capital from investors focused on science-led, climate, and industrial technologies.
Commercial Focus
TaiSan is targeting use cases including e-bikes, scooters, vehicles, and power tools, where lower-cost and safer battery alternatives could broaden electrification options. The company’s commercial challenge will be to pair the potential supply-chain and sustainability advantages of sodium with energy density, durability, and manufacturing performance that customers require. Pilot testing offers a practical route to generating the performance data, customer feedback, and production relationships needed before wider deployment.
TaiSan’s £4.65 million round gives the UK startup additional resources to develop its sodium-ion technology beyond its Cambridge laboratory and into manufacturer-led pilots. The blend of private investment and Innovate UK support reflects continued interest in battery chemistries that could complement lithium-ion systems in selected applications. Its next progress markers will be pilot results, customer conversions, and evidence that its quasi-solid-state approach can be produced reliably at commercial scale.