By ATN Editorial Team
Summary: Volklec has secured a government-backed role in AMBERS (Advanced Modular Battery System), a UK battery platform developed with Ricardo and Hyperbat for automotive and defence customers. The programme is backed by the £452 million Battery Innovation Programme, delivered by Innovate UK with the Department for Business and Trade, to build scalable, high-power packs around UK-made cells.
Key engineering takeaway: Each pack is engineered around Volklec’s high-power 21700 cells and a configurable block architecture, holding between one and five modules at 1.8kWh per module, with integrated cells, battery management and cooling. The architecture lets customers scale voltage, power, packaging and qualification without building every layer of cell, pack, BMS and integration in-house.
Why it matters: For specialist automotive and defence manufacturers, a domestic UK battery platform offers a faster, lower-risk route to a qualified high-power pack while cutting supply-chain exposure. With prototype samples due in April 2028, the UK battery platform links cell production, pack manufacture and systems engineering into a single sovereign supply route.
UK battery cell manufacturer Volklec has secured a government-backed role in the Advanced Modular Battery System programme, AMBERS, a UK-led battery product under development for automotive and defence customers seeking a faster, domestic route to electrification.
With investment from the Battery Innovation Programme, a £452 million government-backed programme delivered by Innovate UK and supported by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), AMBERS brings together Volklec, Ricardo and Hyperbat, a Unipart company, to develop a scalable modular battery solution for demanding hybrid and electric applications.
Inside The AMBERS UK Battery Platform
Core to the AMBERS programme is development of a modular battery pack engineered for the high-performance automotive and defence industries. Engineered around Volklec’s high-power 21700 cells and a configurable block architecture, the solution incorporates cells and battery management systems, and can be scaled to meet different voltage, power, packaging, integration and qualification requirements. Each pack contains between one and five modules, with an energy capacity of 1.8kWh per module.
A Sovereign Route For Automotive And Defence
The packs will offer several applications across automotive and defence, including hybrid sports cars, specialist automotive platforms, defence mobility, auxiliary power, UGV and UAS support systems, high-power mobile platforms and other applications where customers require compact, robust and scalable battery systems. For defence and regulated customers, sovereign capability can support procurement requirements, reduce supply-chain risk, improve security of supply and support UK and allied programmes.
For specialist automotive and defence manufacturers, AMBERS addresses a key barrier to electrification: how to access a robust, high-power battery solution without needing to develop every layer of cell, pack, BMS, cooling and integration capability in-house. It offers a faster, lower-risk route to a scalable battery module built around sovereign UK cells.
By combining Ricardo’s engineering expertise, Hyperbat’s pack production capability and Volklec’s cell manufacturing pathway, the programme will help form a clear and de-risked route to battery engineering, integration and manufacture. The packs will also help create a direct pull-through route for Volklec cells into customer programmes and support development of high-value battery capability in the UK – linking cell technology, pack manufacture and systems engineering into a stronger domestic industrial base and creating a truly sovereign battery solution for UK and international customers.
AMBERS is exactly the type of programme the UK needs: application-led, execution-focused and built around the capabilities required to manufacture advanced battery systems at speed. By combining Volklec’s high-power 21700 cell capability with Ricardo’s systems engineering expertise and Hyperbat’s pack manufacturing experience, AMBERS creates a scalable route for customers to access advanced, sovereign battery technology without having to build every layer of capability themselves.
Johan Andersson, Chief Commercial Officer, Volklec
With support from Innovate UK and DBT, AMBERS will now progress through development, with prototype samples scheduled for deployment in April 2028. Customers interested in early access or requirements engagement can contact Volklec to discuss platform configuration, qualification needs and future production pathways.
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