Melbourne company gets funding for new battery manufacturing model

Melbourne-based battery startup Voltavate has announced it is being supported by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) through a $3.55 million pilot-scale program in order to transition its manufacturing-integrated separator technology from laboratory development to real-world manufacturing.

The project will establish pilot-scale production and integrate Voltavate’s technology directly into battery cells for independent performance and safety validation under real-world conditions.

According to Voltavate, the way batteries are manufactured today is under increasing pressure. As global demand accelerates, manufacturers are being pushed to scale faster while maintaining performance, safety and cost efficiency. At the same time, supply chains remain highly concentrated and dependent on specialised third-party suppliers — limiting flexibility, increasing risk and constraining innovation.

In conventional battery manufacturing, separators (porous, electrically insulating membranes placed between the battery’s anode and cathode) are produced separately and sourced from a limited number of specialised suppliers. This creates dependency, reduces flexibility, and adds complexity to already strained supply chains.

Voltavate’s platform enables battery manufacturers to produce separators directly on their production lines — similar to how electrodes are manufactured today. This shift transforms separators from a sourced component into an integrated manufacturing step.

By enabling in-house production, Voltavate allows manufacturers to:

• tailor separator properties to their specific cell designs
• reduce reliance on third-party suppliers with limited flexibility
• improve production yield and consistency
• simplify supply chains
• support more localised and vertically integrated manufacturing.
   

The platform is designed as a drop-in solution that integrates with existing production lines without requiring fundamental changes to infrastructure.

“This project marks a critical step in moving from lab-scale development into real manufacturing environments,” said Amir Hooshang Taheri, CEO of Voltavate. “We’re focused on improving how batteries are made — reducing production waste, enabling scalable manufacturing, and giving manufacturers more control over a key component of the battery.”

Darren Miller, CEO at ARENA, said: “This project demonstrates how Australia can play a stronger role in the global battery value chain by supporting the development of advanced manufacturing capabilities for clean energy technologies.”

Image: Supplied