UK battery cell manufacturer Volklec has joined the Advanced Modular Battery System programme, a government-backed project to develop scalable battery packs for high-performance automotive and defence applications.
The AMBERS programme brings Volklec together with Ricardo and Hyperbat, the Unipart-owned battery pack manufacturer, under investment from the Battery Innovation Programme. Delivered by Innovate UK and supported by the Department for Business and Trade, the project is designed to strengthen UK capability in advanced battery systems that can be configured for specialist vehicle and mobility platforms.
At the centre of the programme is a modular battery pack built around Volklec’s high-power 21700 cells. The architecture combines cells, battery management systems, and scalable pack modules that can be adapted for different voltage, power, packaging, integration, and qualification requirements. Each pack can contain between one and five modules, with 1.8kWh of energy capacity per module.
Initial target applications include hybrid sports cars, specialist automotive platforms, defence mobility, auxiliary power systems, uncrewed ground vehicles, uncrewed aerial systems, and compact high-power mobile platforms. Prototype samples are scheduled for April 2028, giving the consortium a defined engineering route from cell supply to validated hardware.
The project connects several parts of the UK electrification chain that are often treated separately. Cell production, pack design, electronics, mechanical integration, thermal control, and qualification all need to converge before a battery system can move into demanding vehicle or defence environments. By placing a UK cell manufacturer inside the pack development route, AMBERS gives the domestic supply base a stronger link between component production and system-level deployment.
Battery manufacturing is usually discussed through the lens of gigafactory scale, but specialist automotive and defence platforms follow a different industrial logic. Lower-volume programmes still need reliable supply, qualified components, and repeatable production methods, yet they rarely have the volumes to justify bespoke cell or pack development from first principles. Modular high-power battery systems can reduce that burden while retaining enough flexibility for different vehicle architectures.
Supply security is also becoming a more prominent engineering and procurement requirement. Defence and specialist mobility projects are increasingly sensitive to overseas sourcing, cell availability, traceability, and long-term support. Domestic battery capability can reduce exposure to supply interruptions while giving systems integrators closer control over safety validation, materials, software, and lifecycle management.
Battery packaging has become a core engineering discipline rather than a downstream assembly task. Safety, weight, sealing, insulation, thermal behaviour, and manufacturability are now tied together at cell and module level, as seen in new battery cell cap technologies developed for electric vehicles and storage systems. AMBERS operates higher in the integration chain, but the same pressures apply across the full pack.
Specialist automotive manufacturers face a particularly difficult route through electrification. Their vehicles can demand high discharge capability, compact packaging, and low production volumes, all while needing credible validation evidence and manageable costs. A configurable modular system could shorten integration cycles, reduce duplicated engineering work, and support manufacturers that need electrification without building an entire battery supply chain around each platform.
Defence applications add a further layer of complexity. Electrified mobility, auxiliary power, and uncrewed systems need energy systems that can withstand vibration, harsh environments, operational constraints, and secure procurement requirements. Battery performance becomes part of platform endurance, maintainability, and operational readiness, rather than a simple substitution for combustion power.
Volklec’s role in AMBERS therefore places the company inside one of the more practical routes for UK battery industrialisation: using domestic cells in modular systems for demanding, high-value applications where local supply and engineering control carry genuine weight. The next test will be whether the consortium can turn a flexible architecture into qualified production hardware that manufacturers can adopt without adding complexity to already difficult electrification programmes.
